Italian style is a natural attitude. It is about a life of good taste. It doesn't have to be expensive. Simple but with good taste. Luxury is possible to buy. Good taste is not.
Diego Della Valle
When it is possible, I choose to have a quiet life.
Put a compass to paper and trace a circle. Then tell me which other country has such a concentration of places like Amalfi, Naples, Ischia, Procida, Sorrento, Positano, Pompeii, and Capri.
I remember perfectly my first trip to New York, when I was on the bridge between Brooklyn and Manhattan, when I saw the skyscrapers. It was like an incredible dream.
My father taught me respect for quality as well as a sense of dignity - great values as we face a world going in a different direction. I try to teach my children to stay close to the real things.
La Scala is easily one of the top 10 symbols of Italy's cultural excellence. That makes it vital to our global image. Closing it would send a message to the rest of the world that Italy doesn't care.
I am a liberal. I want everyone to be well.
When I am walking in Central Park, I recognize the Italians. Because an Italian, even when he jogs, he's dressed perfect.
I love and admire the American culture and the American dream. I learnt so many things about the American shoe industry and marketing strategies. I caught the secrets of American casual wear, that is elegant and wearable, retro and modern, and mixed it with an Italian touch, luxurious and handmade.
I was born and I live in a small village, where the centre of life is the square, and the small bar/cafe.
Tod's customers - whatever their nationality - want the very best things in life.
I was looking for a name with an old English sound, very easy to pronounce in every language and easy to remember. At the beginning I used J. P. Tod's, but then in 1999 it was shortened since too many people were asking who was Mr. J. P. Tod's.
Of course China is an important new market for Tod's, and of course we need to succeed commercially. But I believe the way to do that is not to aim to deliver results in the short term by thoughtless expansion, but instead to explain to the Chinese people what our brand is really about.
There is a time to be chic and sportive, there is a time to be sexy and feminine, but it's hard to find the balance, and Tod's has done that.
I grew up watching my father work, and learning from him what good quality is. I took from him the passion to create beautiful and exclusive products. He also taught me to persevere if I want to reach my goals.
On weekends, the U.S. was casual; in Italy the weekend was very formal. I came to understand that weekends are about free time, and that one could wear high quality, tasteful products that weren't so formal.
I need to have a quick wardrobe. Two or three blazers with dark gray pants, two pairs of jeans, two light blue shirts, a casual shirt, two pairs of shoes, one formal one not. Small accessories like Tod's Greca belt and our woven bracelets for a wild touch.
Image is something you construct, while reputation starts at home. If you are able to pass on solid values to your children, then they can become citizens of the world.
When I was a kid, I wanted to be a footballer and racing driver, like all kids.
Saks is one of the temples of good-quality products in America. The Saks shop in New York, for me, is the most interesting department store in America.
You try to be young, maybe you like to have a few toys, but it's not the most important thing in life.
Almost everyone wears rubber on their feet these days, but there was a time when it was considered cheap. Luxury shoes had leather soles, which were rigid and heavy.
The boom for luxury goods is unending. There are people who never have to worry about whether they can afford something they like. In one part of the world or another there will always be someone with money to spend on luxury.
Sure, Tod's makes shoes and bags. But we make them using leather, which is a living substance to me. And behind each shoe and bag, which in itself may be attractive and useful and comfortable to carry and wear, there is this Italian spirit, this Italian dream.
The idea behind our shoes is simple: they are as light as possible, very soft and made from the finest leather we can buy. We try to make a combination of something that looks fantastic and is at the same time fantastically comfortable. This is the type of luxury people want to buy now, things that they can use every day.
I remember seeing the Colosseum for the first time when I was a young boy. It left a lasting impression on me.
I come from a family with a long tradition in shoemaking, and I still live in a region famous for its shoemakers. It is getting harder and harder to find skilled workers. There are no professional training institutes, so we have to train our own employees. And an apprenticeship takes three years.
I worked in the family business, which was my father's shoe making company that he had inherited from his father, and that led me to become interested in what could be achieved by a great Italian brand. That became my ambition as a young man.
I hope I will be remembered as a good father and a fair employer. And a good host, of course!
I bought into Saks as a personal investment because, when I was a young man and went to America for the first time, it seemed to me that Saks was like a cathedral of retail. I never dreamt that I could one day be a part of it. And now I am.
Businessmen should not put their finger in politics, because they tend to think only of their own self-interest. But I worry about the low morale in Italian industry and the lack of government initiatives to help the poor.
You have to be serious-minded in business, but not take yourself seriously.
My father wasn't absolutely delighted. He wanted me to become a lawyer. I studied law, but I thought the shoe business was more exciting.
We must never lose sight of the fact that shoes go on the feet, and if people can't walk in them, they are worthless. Fashion designers who are not specialists need the help of technical people. We help decide the collections together.
I want people to feel happy when they wear my shoes.
When you work too much, you are boring - that is possible. But to have a happy life, if you can do several things in the correct way, that is perfect.
