Todd Snyder on Building a $130 Million Menswear Business 

For Todd Snyder, resilience means dreaming big and never giving up.

The recipient of WWD’s 2024 Menswear Designer of the Year Honor, Snyder discussed how he’s built his business over the last 13 years, chronicling his time growing up in Iowa to now leading a $130 million menswear brand.  

His early years served as the foundation of his label, he explained, with his family’s support encouraging him to take a leap and move to New York City to pursue his lifelong passion of design.

Synder explained he was initially going to follow in his father’s footsteps and become an engineer, but realized that career path wasn’t for him.

“I always liked clothes when I was growing up,” he said in a conversation with WWD men’s editor Jean E. Palmieri. “I was voted best dressed in high school, which I’m very proud of, and that gave me the confidence. I remember when I was a kid when I was moving to New York City, my family and cousins were all there. They were like, ‘what are you going to be?’ And I was like, ‘I’m going to be a fashion designer,’ and they were like, ‘what?’ I just remember my grandmother told me, ‘that makes sense,’ and I go, ‘why?’ She goes ‘Snyder in Dutch means tailor.’ So that gave me the confidence to say I’m going to move to New York City and really saying this is meant to be.” 

Snyder moved to New York and cold-called designer brands like Ralph Lauren, Joseph Abboud and Andrew Fezza, which ultimately landed him an internship at Ralph Lauren. 

He came into the internship with design experience he gained working at the men’s store Badowers, where he worked as a tailor. He said this gave him a “competitive edge,” as he realized that “most designers aren’t very good at sewing.” 

“The biggest thing for me was just working hard,” he said. “Putting my head down and really go after what I love. I always dreamt of being a designer. I remember working in the menswear store Badowers and I just fell in love with clothes and I got to work with some amazing people.” 

The internship ultimately led him to a lengthy career at major brands like John Varvatos, Old Navy and J.Crew, the latter of which was his last role before establishing the Todd Snyder label. 

During his time at J.Crew, Snyder entered the spotlight when he created the brand’s first stand-alone men’s store, called The Liquor Store, in TriBeCa. Snyder stated the retail concept was “a proving point” for himself, and gave him the confidence to embark on his own label. 

He said his network of colleagues and mentors in the fashion industry were crucial when he was launching his label, especially as he was establishing the brand coming out of the recession.

“My experience of being in the business long enough, I leaned on a lot of people,” he said. “I did a lot of side hustles, I always knew great people and I used those relationships to really parlay those into ways to grow my business. I was fortunate enough to meet some amazing people that have backed me. I remember I backed myself initially for the first two to three years. I started selling T-shirts to Old Navy — that was my bread and butter. It’s how I made money while I was building the Todd Snyder collection. That was never the intent, but it was a necessary means.” 

Those T-shirts were part of Snyder’s Tailgate brand, which got him the attention of American Eagle Outfitters. The company acquired Tailgate and the Todd Snyder label in 2015.  

“It was definitely a gift with purchase although American Eagle doesn’t necessarily believe that,” Snyder said. “Tailgate was making money. Todd Snyder was doing $2 million and now we’re doing $130 million and going beyond, so I’m super excited about that.” 

Snyder’s partnership with American Eagle Outfitters has helped him weather storms throughout the years and keep his eye on the prize. Specifically, the company’s chief executive officer Jay Schottenstein gave him advice on how to navigate the challenges the business was facing during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Jay said to me during the pandemic — this was the first six months of the pandemic — ‘I really want you to go out there and open 10 stores.’ I had one store and it had shut down and we’re hunkering down trying to figure out what’s going on. He said, ‘Todd, you need to make hay while the sun is shining.’ Being from Iowa, I know what that means. When you’re making hay, you cut all of the grass, you cut all of the straw and when it’s raining and wet you don’t want to put all of that stuff in a bail because it gets moldy and useless. So, I said, ‘OK, let’s do it,’ and it was the best thing we ever did. So when he says things like that I figure out how we can get there.” 

Snyder is working toward Schottenstein’s goal of opening 50 stores. He currently operates out of 19 locations, and has four new ones opening next year. 

The designer also spoke about returning to the runway this year, first showcasing at Pitti Uomo in January and debuting a new collection during New York Fashion Week in September.  

“To be honest, I kind of gave up on shows and I gave up on the press and the CFDA and everything,” he said. “I was like I don’t need this. My business was skyrocketing and we hit $100 million and I hadn’t done a show in four years, do I need to do a show? Doing that show, I wasn’t designing for the commerce of it and commercial parts of only thinking about the business. Right after I did the show it reminded me why I became a designer. I love working with material, I love working with creatives outside of just working with weavers, working with people who are in the business, and it reminded me I was a kid that sewed a lot and I just like building things.” 

Going forward, Snyder is eyeing international expansion as his next area of growth. When asked if he would enter the women’s fashion category, Snyder said he has no current plans, but also declared, “Never say never.”