Quotes from Diego Della Valle

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 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.