Todd Snyder Is Exactly Where He Wants To Be

"Our whole goal is to present product in a way that guys get it and understand it, versus 'Here's some crazy aspirational brand-you go figure it out on your own'."

- Josh Condon

WHAT DO YOU get when a down-to-earth Midwesterner with an architectural bent cultivates an obsession with Italian fabrics, a love of English shop culture and a very Ralph retail savvy? Todd Snyder—plus the US$100 million brand that bears his name.

Following his standout Autumn/Winter 2024 runway show at the Pitti Uomo menswear exhibition in January, the designer discusses the label’s move upmarket, the state of American luxury, getting collaborations right and the ‘superpower’ of decoding fashion for men. This conversation has been edited for length and clarity.

Let’s start with your first European runway show in Florence, which seemed to herald a more luxurious and fashion-forward moment for you. What prompted that shift?

It was almost like a rebirth of the brand in a way. I wanted to be able to show who I am and what the Todd Snyder brand means for our next phase. I think it’s important to reposition ourselves at that level, plus it helps bring so much energy into the brand. Italy is special to me because all our fabrics are Italian, and when I fell in love with fashion back in the 1980s, 1990s, it was Armani, it was mostly Italians that I looked at. (Doing the show) brought me back to what got me into this business.

Do you see yourself targeting the same customer as the big luxury houses with more couture backgrounds, just from a different angle? Or are you leading your existing customer into that next price point?

Our customer spans both. I’ve always tried to position my brand as an approachable one. When I worked in retail, I worked in an amazing men’s store in Des Moines called Badowers. That’s where I learnt how to sew, how to tailor, and got into the whole craft of making clothes. And we knew every customer that came in. So when I was opening stores, that was a huge component, to be an approachable brand.