Tod’s Celebrates the “The Art of Craftmanship” During the 60th Venice Biennale

©Marco Cappelletti
ALFONSO CATALANO

As a collateral event, the brand staged The Art of Craftmanship—A Project by Venitian Masters at the Tese di San Cristoforo at Venice’s Arsenale.

Eleven Venetian masters were given the task of interpreting Tod’s Gommino through their specific craft. Just to name a few, Glassblower Roberto Beltrami rendered a Gommino shoe in golden-hued glass; mask maker Sergio Boldrin covered traditional Venitian masks, usually worn during Carnival festivities, in scraps of leather; goldbeater artisans Marino Mengazzo and Mario Berta covered in gold leaf a pair of Gommino shoes and their packaging. 

Craftsmanship is at the heart of Italian savoir-faire and of Tod’s fashion practice; Della Valle said he was particularly keen on shining a light on traditional Venetian crafts, not only to preserve their disappearing artistry but also to “ inspire and encourage young generations to look at craftsmanship as a valuable art, because becoming a gifted artisan isn’t less important than becoming a lawyer.”