Tod’s celebrates the icons of Italian design at Design Week 2026 With a limited-edition collection of Gommino loafers

In the history of Italian fashion, few objects embody elegance, functionality, and artisanal tradition as naturally as Tod’s Gommino. Over the years, the Gommino has not only become the driving shoe par excellence, representing the brand’s entire vocation for manufacturing excellence, but has also become a style statement — a perfect synthesis of comfort and refinement capable of uniting entire generations. On the occasion of the Salone del Mobile 2026, Tod’s will celebrate this icon through a dialogue with the great Italian design of the 20th century with the project Icons by Icons, which will be open to the public from April 21, 2026, at Via Savona 56 upon registration on the brand’s website.

Here, the reinterpretations of the Gommino are placed in direct dialogue with the original works that inspired them, creating an exhibition path that feels almost like a conversation between different eras. The heart of the initiative is a reinterpretation of the Gommino inspired by four absolute protagonists of Italian design: Joe Colombo, Gaetano Pesce, the Castiglioni brothers, and Michele De Lucchi. Their works become a kind of “visual alphabet” through which to reinterpret the iconic loafer.

The fluid and futuristic lines of Joe Colombo’s Elda armchair suggest a dynamic, enveloping, almost spatial vision. This is contrasted with the free and material approach of Gaetano Pesce’s Crosby chair, where the form seems to emerge spontaneously, without constraints. The project is further enriched by the radical language of the Kristall table, designed by Michele De Lucchi for Memphis Milano, with its iconic Fantastic pattern that breaks the rules and plays with colors and geometries. Finally, the design purity of the Brionvega Radiofonografo by Achille and Pier Giacomo Castiglioni introduces a more essential dimension, where every element has a precise reason for being.

Four visions, four languages, four ways of thinking about design. And four Gomminos that become collectible objects — small wearable manifestos. Visitors will be able to observe the creative process up close and, above all, the work of Tod’s artisans, which is perhaps even more astonishing than the limited-edition loafers themselves. The live demonstrations reveal the almost ritual precision of hand-stitching, one of the most distinctive details of the Gommino that becomes a bridge between artisanal tradition and creative experimentation.