Style -- 1 day ago
Exciting New Collaboration – Tod’s Envelope Boat Shoes by Nendo
Words: Violet
We all know Tod’s for their world famous Italian shoes, particularly their boat and car shoes which every discerning gentleman either owns, or wants to own. Now the luxury label have teamed up with the award winning Japanese design studio Nendo – led by celebrated designer and architect Oki Sato – to create these brand new Envelope Boat Shoes.
The collaboration will be launched during Salone Internazionale del Mobile 2014 which opened today at Tod’s Via Della Spiga flagship store in Milan. More than just a shoe collaboration, the whimsical window display at Tod’s have also been designed by Nendo. Tod’s Envelope Boat Shoes are a new take on their renowned deck shoe, a modern classic in their own right, reimagined by Sato and his team at Nendo for the Spring/Summer 2014 season.
Oki Sato says of the wonderful designs, “We chose to combine two materials for the shoe’s upper – a soft leather for the vamp with suede for the quarter and backstay – and visibly connect the two materials with side details such as the tie string of an envelope. A rubber sole like those traditionally used on deck shoes reflects the Tod’s design lineage; carefully hidden, near-invisible stitching emphasises the softness of the shoe whilst a highly breathable mesh inner lends lightness and a sense of relaxation. Like the envelope that encloses an important letter and sent far away to bring people happiness, we hope our shoe will support the foot as it travels far, bringing happiness as it goes.”
The end result is a new casual model, but still striking, created using a mix of suede and soft leather materials. So named the Envelope as it wraps the wearer’s foot, this style comes in easy shades of blue, grey, brown, black and putty, all featuring a distinctive fastening detail for the laces with two matt silver studs, perfect for your spring/summer wardrobe.
As the old saying goes “never give anyone anything you wouldn’t want to receive yourself”, the same could be applied to the process of this shoe – Sato set about designing a shoe that he himself would want to wear, and says of the design that they are, “Not too casual, not too formal; light, soft, relaxing, functional and with a pinch of humour and elegance.” They also stay wonderfully true to the iconic heritage of the Tod’s brand, we think that these are a must buy for any gentleman.
For more information visit tods.com
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