Before Sunday, New York designer Todd Snyder had not staged a runway in New York for almost five years. In fact, his last show was far, far away in Florence during Pitti Uomo in January; and before that, he hadn't done the catwalk in four years. But after nearly half a decade away, the designer invited a 50-strong crowd to Rockefeller Center's Le Rock restaurant to ring in his Big Apple return: an intimate salon-style show well nourished with iced teas, champagne flutes and dainty dessert towers.
"The show in Italy was my favorite thing I've ever done, but I wanted to do something that was the exact opposite," Snyder said of the spectacle. "I wanted something where you could see the clothes and almost feel the clothes because I think fashion is about changing expectations."
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Titled "Villa America," the Spring/Summer 2025 collection drew inspiration from an American expatriate on the French Riviera in the 1920s. The name itself is a direct nod to Gerald and Sarah Murphy's Antibes home, frequented by the likes of Picasso, Cole Porter and F. Scott Fitzgerald.
In mode, the polished moldboard bred suits in popular glacé pastels from the late 1980s and early 1990s. “What I love about tailoring today is that it’s an exploration. It’s a balancing act between having a style that’s relaxed yet still sits elegantly," said Snyder. He mixed Anglo-American cuts with Milanese drapery, now a signature blend in his brand's ever-expanding net. The process, he said, reminded him of what he loves most about fashion design: "The beauty of draping, the discovery of a new and luxurious fabric, the intricacies of cutting a pattern — all the things that bring me back to when I first learned how to construct a suit.”
In one word, Snyder called the show "elegant." Considering the archetypal New York setting, the fashion's unequivocal dandy and the models' nonchalant meanders through the restaurant locale, it was quite the posh affair indeed.
See Todd Snyder's Spring/Summer 2025 collection in the gallery above.
Click here to view full gallery at Hypebeast
