A Decade In, Designer Todd Snyder Has Perfected the Art of a Brand Mashup

There are few practitioners of collaborations more sagacious than fashion designer Todd Snyder, who has harnessed unique pairings to establish and grow his namesake label since founding it in 2011. In the decade since, the designer has continued to generously deploy the strategy, sometimes referred to as a mashup or product drops, teaming most recently with sneaker brand Converse. Such crossover marketing efforts were largely pioneered in the 1990s, like a 1997 mashup between streetwear brand Stüssy (a forebear of Supreme) and Japanese electronics manufacturer Casio’s G-Shock watch brand, which provided a template many brands have since emulated. But it was the partnership between German athletic wear giant Adidas and Japanese designer Yohji Yamamoto in 2002 that caused the fashion world to embrace what is now a bona fide trend. Rediscovering home in a faraway place After spending more than a decade at brands such as the Gap and Ralph Lauren, Snyder discovered the potential of brand mashups in 2004, when he was hired as head menswear designer at J.Crew. During Snyder's stint at J.Crew, where he worked until 2009, his trips to Japan introduced him to not only the possibilities of brand mashups, but also vintage Americana, of which the Japanese are avid collectors. In fact, what we have come to think of as brand collaborations today largely originated in Japan decades ago, he said, citing the designer Junya Watanabe, who partnered with denim brand Levi's in 2001. "I remember all my trips to Japan, and Japan would always have the best American pieces that they would just covet, whether it was an Alden boot, or a Red Wing boot or a suit from Southwick. Anything that has that true authenticity," Snyder said. "Champion was [another] one. If you go to some of the vintage stores in Japan, you can get some of the best Champion [goods from the] 1950s, 1940s." Snyder realized that no one stateside was telling the story of that aspect of American clothing design, with roots in workwear or outdoors wear, from the denim jean to the sweatshirt to the sneaker to the parka. "I made that part of our brand ethos and purpose," Snyder went on to say. "It used to be my secret sauce. It's getting out there that it's not so secret." Refining the template for collaborations Snyder first deployed this approach at J.Crew, beginning by partnering with Converse's Jack Purcell, a relationship that came full circle once Snyder had his own brand, followed by boot maker Red Wing, wristwatch label Timex and running shoe brand New Balance. "And then the whole thing just took off," he said. "When I was launching my own collection, I knew that I really wanted to use that same formula that I kind of created at J.Crew." His first pairing was with Champion, given the label invented the sweatshirt in 1919. "I really try to think about brands or products that are American, that are original in their space," Snyder explained. "Most of these brands I've worked with have been around for almost or over 100 years." But Snyder is also drawn to brands for which "the story hasn't been told," he said. "What I really like to do is to tell the brand story. And that's where I really get excited. I get to go through the archives. I get to see things most people don't get to see," Snyder added. "I almost look at myself as a curator, so to speak." Following a passion is good for business It's not just a personal interest for Snyder—it also happens to be good for business. "From a business perspective, it certainly builds brand awareness, because everybody knows who Converse is, everybody knows who FootJoy is, everybody knows who Champion is. And that, for me, is certainly part of the whole reason why I do it," he said. Snyder is frequently inspired by travel, which in turn lends itself to collaborations for his namesake brand, which was acquired by American Eagle Outfitters in 2015. "I grew up in Iowa, so I didn't get out much. So when I got to travel, once I got into this industry, I just fell in love with it," he said. In addition to gaining inspiration from other brands, Snyder also gleans much for his marketing. What intrigued Snyder about pairing with the Jack Purcell brand, for example, was while many consumers knew about Chuck Taylor, fewer were familiar with Purcell, who was a world champion badminton player from Canada. Indeed, the sneaker that carries Purcell's name was originally designed for the sport and first sold in 1935. Hence the tagline, "You don't know Jack," Snyder said. Marketing and design go hand in hand It's the fashion designer's belief good marketing and good design go hand in hand, whether the messaging comes immediately during research or it gradually takes form during the product development or design process. In some cases, as with Jack Purcell and Champion, Snyder largely drove the marketing for those collaborations, while the partnership with outdoors brand L.L. Bean was more of a team effort, he noted. "I've proven to them that they can trust me, and they want that kind of narration, they want to have that voice, and I think that's a big reason why a lot of people like to partner with us or with me, because we're able to position [the collaboration] in a great way and talk about it in an authentic way," Snyder said. In the beginning, such partnerships contributed a lion's share of sales for the Todd Snyder brand, but now constitute a smaller, but still meaningful, percentage of about 25%, he said. "We've been really fortunate to be one of the few menswear brands still standing and going strong," Snyder said, noting collaborations continue to play an important additive role coming out of the pandemic.