diff --git a/src/spatialdata/dataloader/__init__.py b/src/spatialdata/dataloader/__init__.py
index 819ab58e..e6232f7d 100644
--- a/src/spatialdata/dataloader/__init__.py
+++ b/src/spatialdata/dataloader/__init__.py
@@ -1,4 +1,26 @@
-try:
-    from spatialdata.dataloader.datasets import ImageTilesDataset
-except ImportError:
-    ImageTilesDataset = None  # type: ignore[assignment, misc]
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+from typing import TYPE_CHECKING, Any
+
+if TYPE_CHECKING:
+    from spatialdata.dataloader.datasets import ImageTilesDataset as _ImageTilesDataset
+
+
+class ImageTilesDataset:  # noqa: D101
+    _target_class: type[_ImageTilesDataset] | None = None
+
+    def __new__(cls, *args: Any, **kwargs: Any) -> _ImageTilesDataset:  # noqa: D102
+        if cls._target_class is None:
+            try:
+                from spatialdata.dataloader.datasets import (
+                    ImageTilesDataset as ActualImageTilesDataset,
+                )
+
+                cls._target_class = ActualImageTilesDataset
+
+            except ImportError as error:
+                raise ImportError(
+                    "ImageTilesDataset could not be imported. This usually means the 'torch' dependency is missing."
+                ) from error
+
+        return cls._target_class(*args, **kwargs)