Tod’s is turning Milan Design Week 2026 into a live dialogue between fashion and design with ICONS by ICONS, a special project dedicated to its signature Gommino loafer and the masters of 20th century Italian design. From April 22nd to 26th 2026, visitors can register to discover the limited edition collection and installation at Via Savona 56, 20144 Milan, in the heart of the city’s design district.
A design-led celebration of the Gommino
The ICONS by ICONS project reimagines the Gommino through four landmark pieces of Italian design, each one inspiring a different collectible version of the loafer. The initiative is a tribute to Italian creative and artisanal excellence, bringing together product design and craftsmanship in a single narrative.
Four design icons anchor the story: the enveloping, futuristic Elda armchair by Joe Colombo, the expressive Crosby chair by Gaetano Pesce, the radical Kristall table by Michele De Lucchi for Memphis Milano, and the Brionvega RR226 Radiofonografo by Achille and Pier Giacomo Castiglioni. Each masterpiece lends its shapes, colors and graphic codes to a dedicated Gommino interpretation, conceived as a limited‑edition object for collectors.
Inside the installation at Via Savona 56
Unveiled on April 21 2026, the project takes over Tod’s space at Via Savona 56 with an exhibition route that places the original design pieces alongside their corresponding loafers. Open to the public by registration from April 22nd to 26th, 11 AM to 9 PM, the installation forms part of the official Fuorisalone and Tortona Design Week circuit.
The layout is conceived as a series of encounters: visitors move from the sculptural curves of Joe Colombo’s Elda to the unconventional, resin-rich language of Gaetano Pesce’s Crosby, then on to the graphic explosions of Michele De Lucchi’s Kristall and the pure, modular silhouette of the Brionvega RR226. At each stop, a reinterpreted Gommino echoes those lines and palettes, translating furniture and electronics into leather, stitching and metal details.
Artisans at work and a limited-edition drop
Throughout the Milan installation, Tod’s artisans offer live demonstrations of key stages in the making of the Gommino, from cutting to its distinctive hand‑stitching. This hand stitched apron, long a hallmark of the loafer, is presented as a symbol of Italian artisanal know how and a counterpoint to the industrial perfection of the design objects on display.
The associated limited edition collection is available from April 21 2026 exclusively at the Tod’s boutique in Milan Monte Napoleone and on tods.com, underscoring the project’s collector status. Registration via the event link allows visitors to step into this ICONS by ICONS dialogue and see both the masterpieces and their Gommino counterparts up close.
Tod’s as a bridge between fashion and design
With ICONS by ICONS, Tod’s uses Milan Design Week 2026 to frame the Gommino not only as a wardrobe classic, but as part of a broader Italian design story. By placing its loafer in conversation with 20th‑century icons, the brand aligns its leather craft with the same values of innovation, function and formal experimentation that defined Italy’s design golden age.
For the Milan crowd moving between fairs, showrooms and galleries, Via Savona 56 becomes a place to see how a fashion icon can be re read through other disciplines, without losing the practicality that made it famous. The message is clear: in 2026, the Gommino is both a daily essential and a collectible artefact of Italian style.
