Rahul Mishra’s collaboration with Tod’s was a years-long relay race

By the time I get on a call with the Rahul Mishra, it’s already past 8 pm. Even after we’re through talking, the designer won’t be done for the day. He’s got two more interviews lined up after this one, so while on the phone with me, he’s using the opportunity to complete his evening walk. The daily ritual is essential for the designer, it’s the only time he gets to step out, stretch his legs, look at the sky. “Nature, to me, to all of us as human beings, is life. It’s my constant inspiration.” he says. “At school I was always the one helping others with their biology notes. Even if I was to become a botanist, though, I would need 10 lives to be able to learn about all of the parts that inspire me.”

This interest in the natural world is evident in the designer’s latest collaboration with Italian fashion and accessories house Tod’s. The storied brand that was founded at the turn of the 20th century by shoemaker Filippo Della Valle and which now, more than 100 years later, with his grandson Diego Della Valle at the helm as CEO, has become a stalwart of Italian craftsmanship. Through this collaboration, Mishra has brought an element of India to iconic Tod’s products such as the Gommino loafer, the Di Bag, and more accessories from the Timeless T range. Harnessing his artisans’ couture-level skill with embroidery, Mishra has covered the sleek, made-in-Italy leather goods with dense metallic thread and beadwork depicting motifs of parrots, tigers, and a lush landscape of flowers.

Launched on September 13, 2024, this special-edition collection is what Mishra describes as a “relay race” between the two houses, with products and designs going back and forth between the generations-old Tod’s team of artisans based in the Marche region of Italy and Mishra’s units in New Delhi. He says, “Working with leather is not as simple as fabric. For one, when you work on the smaller surface area of a shoe, as opposed to a lehenga, the details are even more important and end up actually feeling larger. So it required a lot of adapting, a lot of learning. Plus, I only put something out when I am ready. I’m, like, the slowest designer out there because I really take my own time. Luckily the Tod’s team has a lot of patience.”

The Italian house’s first India-centric collab is the latest under the Tod’s Factory, a project via which artists and designers from around the world are offered a chance to reinterpret the storied house’s design codes and work with its highly skilled craftsmen. Previous partnerships have been with the late Alber Elbaz, Anna Dello Russo, Maiko Kurogouchi, and Moncler, among others. For the brand’s general manager, Carlo Alberto Beretta, the collaboration with Mishra aims to “pay homage to the encounter of quality and Italian artisanal tradition and the essence of Indian craftsmanship: Tod’s iconic accessories, hand-embroidered by skilled kaarigar artisans, who interpret timeless luxury with a contemporary language.” Beretta reveals that the Tod’s team met Mishra a few years ago, before the pandemic, during one of his early shows in Paris. That was when the seeds were first planted. The brand was “driven by his exquisite creativity and the discussions of a collaboration started around a year ago, based on our shared values of craftsmanship and quality.”

While the products might be the perfect India-meets-Italy hybrid, this is a collection that is meant for a global audience. Tod’s launched the line with a party at its Old Bond Street store in London, which will be followed by another event in Dubai. “I’m always trying to see what the contemporary version of an Indian aesthetic is,” says Mishra. “Whether it’s things like the Tree of Life symbol, the tiger, or the lotus flower. India has such diverse flora and fauna, which is why our motifs are so often inspired by them. The bags and shoes are almost a canvas for all that.”

The collection is available at Tod's and Rahul Mishra stores around the country and online at luxe.ajio.com and rahulmishra.in