Creative Director Chiapponi said that he approached the Tod’s Pre-Fall 2021 collection as a “Frankenstein experiment” with utility-inflected wardrobe staples, adding exaggerated details and volume to add punch.

He kept Tod’s artisanal luxury factor intact but he played it less by the book, as he believes that the human touch gives more instinctual depth and emotional feel to each garment, and a sort of sensuality.

The women’s offering also had a slightly offhand vibe. A preppy gingham car coat was coated in clear technical material, the collar of a checkered city coat was almost wing-shaped, and a leather crisscross corset was layered over a classic ribbed turtleneck. On the same off-kilter note, ’80s-ish napa leather stirrup pants contrasted with a billowy poet blouse in crisp poplin, while a roomy cardigan was haphazardly patchworked in color-block intarsias.

Walking the line between the bourgeoisie and the rebel seemed to be Chiapponi’s game: Infusing sophisticated codes of elegance with a free-spirited feeling resonates with today’s very individual response to our dystopian times.