Colour Theory: Tod's No_Code series

Jefferson Hack's ongoing Tod’s No_Code collaborations with different imagemakers has seen him teaming up with LA-based photographer and artist Sam Falls for AW13. A big fan of the artist, Hack admits that Falls was always an obvious choice: “For this campaign, the idea was to have chaos and colour and paint everywhere, as if you were walking into the canvas. That’s why I chose to collaborate with Sam, whose artwork inspires me.” 

And as much as it is the result, the process is as imperative: “Sam used a technique that combines the analogue with the digital – painting over photographs and manipulating natural processes in post-production,” explains Hack. “This synergy between old and new is an analogy of what I do with Tod’s No_Code.”

The AW13 collection – which includes five styles for men and four for women based on the classic Oxford shoe, desert boot, Chelsea boot and, new for this season, the buckle-strap monk shoe – sees the introduction of a subtle brushstroke across the surface of the shoes. 

“Key inspirations for me have always come from music culture and a British street style sensibility,” Hack says. “However, for this season it’s about bringing this into the context of art and design and referencing the hand of the artist and the handmade element of the shoes.” The shoes are literally a work of art.