Tod’s unveils Italian Diaries, a campaign that honors the brand’s legendary Gommino driving shoe, embraced by five emerging talents with rich artistic backgrounds: actress and singer Ella Bleu Travolta, musician Lennon Gallagher, writer and director Stella Banderas, model and artist Roberto Rossellini, and singer and actor Leo Gassmann.

Set at Villa Talamo amidst the stunning, ancient Tuscan scenery, photographer Oliver Hadlee Pearch [IG], shoots the campaign in black and white, while the Gomminos breakout in full-color images on social media and the Tod’s website.

Drawing from a modernized view of Tod’s historical roots, the Italian Diaries campaign emphasizes the Italian way of life and heritage as a dynamic and transformative power.

Celebrating Heritage As A Transformative Power

Is la dolce vita so transformative that even wealthy Italians enjoy a longer life span than wealthy Americans?

A new longitudinal research study published days ago in the New England Journal of Medicine says that wealthy Europeans enjoy better survival rates than wealthy Americans. Even more impactful is the study’s conclusion that the wealthiest Americans have survival rates similar to the poorest individuals in northern and western Europe. The study is large, with almost 75,000 participants, and it confirms what many of us already believe about the European approach to high-quality living.

Celebrating the Italian Experience and Tod’s Core Values

The ‘Italian Diaries’ campaign embodies this spirit of Italian culture, zest for living, togetherness, and effortless style—qualities deeply ingrained in Tod’s identity. These aspects are brought to life by the five emerging figures, whose unique styles and artistic backgrounds uniquely align with Tod’s philosophy, demonstrating how the Gommino is a timeless yet evolving hallmark of style and quality, linking different eras.

Featuring its characteristic rubber pebble sole, the Gommino comes in suede or calf leather, offered in the brand’s signature natural tones as well as bold shades like yellow, light blue, and orange, infusing a modern energy into a classic design.

As a symbol of Italian culture and craftsmanship, one that represents Tod’s expertise and attention to small details, the luxury brand is part of a larger renaissance of the Italian story.

Humanism and the Second European Renaissance

AOC believes that Brunello Cucinelli, in particular, launched this narrative with its emphasis on humanist values. Yes, Loro Piana was making headlines around quiet luxury, but the decision of Brunello Cucinelli of make the landing page of their website the founder’s speech on the need for humanist values in our 21st century world was earth-shaking, in AOC’s perspective.

That landing page statement remained for about two years and more, as I only know when I began following it. Note that there are now two websites and the stories are only part of the shopping website, while Brunello Cucinelli is now a biographical, brand site where humanism is promoted.

Returning to the Tod’s story, from a branding and marketing perspective, they are part of this second Italian Renaissance story that AOC is studying in great detail. Especially as we face the great and not-so-great aspects of the American story in a new Trump tariff war, the ancient history of Italy has much to share with the world and luxury branding both.

How do we create cultures that thrive for centuries — even with an egotistical madman at the wheel and democratic ideals thrown to the curb? We’re about to find out. It’s not as if Italy — and the rest of Europe also — haven’t been down this road before. ~ Anne