Tod’s and Creative Director Matteo Tamburini Split After Three Years

Tod’s has confirmed that Matteo Tamburini will step down as creative director, ending a three-year tenure that began in December 2023. The Italian luxury brand announced the departure on Tuesday evening. No successor was named.

The company framed the split as a strategic recalibration. Tod’s said Tamburini leaves “in line with the company’s decision to strengthen its focus on more decisively communicating the brand’s values, the distinctive character of its codes and the artisanal quality of its products, as well as the Italian lifestyle.”

That wording deserves scrutiny. It points to communication and marketing, not product, as the problem area. It also does not say whether sales performance triggered the change. The statement is silent on commercial results. For a house that is privately controlled and light on disclosure, that gap matters.

Diego Della Valle, Tod’s chairman and chief executive officer, thanked the designer in a statement. “I would like to thank Matteo for his creative and professional contribution throughout his tenure, for his commitment and for the work carried out in close collaboration with the company’s teams,” Della Valle said. “I wish Matteo every success in his future professional endeavors.”

Tamburini responded with his own statement. “My experience at Tod’s has been an important chapter in my professional journey and an opportunity to bring my creative vision to the brand,” he said. He added that he was “proud of what we have achieved together and grateful to the Della Valle family for the opportunity they have given me.”

What did Tamburini actually deliver?

His track record at the house is concrete, if hard to quantify in revenue terms. Tamburini joined from Bottega Veneta, where he built expertise in hand-made artisanal leather goods under Tomas Maier. His first Tod’s collection bowed for fall 2024 at Milan Fashion Week. His last, for spring 2027, showed in Milan in September.

Product-side highlights include:

• Updated versions of core carryovers, including the Gommino loafer and the Tod’s Wave bag
• Multiple sophisticated renditions of the Pashmy fabric
• Experiments with graphic elements and color
• Perforated leather designs, seen in the spring collection

He oversaw both women’s and men’s collections, succeeding Walter Chiapponi.

Is the creative-director model itself in question?

Tod’s has history here. After Alessandra Facchinetti exited in 2016, Della Valle reviewed the role and left design duties to the in-house team rather than appointing a single name. Chiapponi later took over both collections. In June 2019, after five years, Andrea Incontri exited as menswear creative director.

That pattern suggests a possible repeat. The company could again run design through its internal team. It has done so before, for years. But the announcement leaves the option open rather than declaring it.

For sourcing and supply-chain watchers, the signal is mixed. Tamburini’s work leaned on Italian craftsmanship and precious hides — capability the brand says it wants to communicate more forcefully, not abandon. Any successor, or any team-led arrangement, inherits the same vendor base and the same artisanal capacity. The question left unanswered is who now sets the design agenda, and how quickly a spring 2028 collection cycle can be staffed and briefed.

Expect clarity on the succession structure before the next Milan runway slot; until then, the design studio carries the load.