It's so intriguing how curious the human mind is. There are some classic maisons, and Tod's is among them. If now I'd ask you when Tod's was born, you probably would answer, "a long time ago". The answer is less than 30 years ago. In matter of time everything is relative, but to me, 30 years ago it's not so long. Everything is part of a great marketing strategy. In 1979, Diego Della Valle found a strange pair of moccasins in an antique dealer in USA. He thought they were really comfortable, and under the name of JP Tod's he decided to produce and market them.
Twenty years later, when the brand had enough recognition, the JP is abandoned and the name of the brand is just Tod's. Taking into account the moccasins were inspired by the motoring world, a pair of those shoes were given to Gianni Agnelli, director of Fiat and one of the most elegant men in Italy. 
If you check out Tod's website, they said:
"Luxury also means having the know how of artisans apprenticed and trained over decades, and the capacity to detect the slightest fault in an apparently impeccable hide and discard it as unfit for Tod's. It is these same artisans, whose families have often been cobblers for generations, who hand cut individual strips of leather (sometimes as many as 100) and later sew them together, hammer them into shape and ultimately create an inimitable shoe or bag that only an Italian artisan with his ancestry and experience can create".
They are indirectly bringing together its brand with over decades, refer to the artisans, and other time expressions such as for generations or his ancestry. Despite they are not telling any lie, they are using those words to contribute to his brand's prestigious as an antique Italian factory.
Everything in this pic evokes longevity: the leather apron, the toughen hands...
*Pic from www.tod's.com
This is an interesting question, an incredible business established on the basis of Italian quality (which lately has suffered some misfortunes because of a report by the Italian Public Television, in which they prove some brands use everything but artesans. Actually, a vast majority of the ones which appear on the report use chinese people working long hours and in semi-slavery conditions) and long time existence. I love Italy, to me it's one of the most beautiful and stylish countries on earth, and so I prefer to think Made in Italy is still a sign of high quality. But pretending to be an antique brand in the fashion olympus when actually yours is not even thirty years old? I understand, marketing is everything but truths, but this one is absolutely amazing.
*the rest of the pics, by google
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