Conversations with Staci Snider

Today we’d like to introduce you to Staci Snider

Hi Staci, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I have just moved to the Raleigh area from Saratoga Springs, New York this year. It has been 30 years since living in the south where I went to undergrad at the University of Arkansas, where I ran track and field on scholarship. Since then, I have lived and worked in ten different countries mainly in Europe honing my skills as a designer. Jumping from athlete to artist was and odd but natural transition for me. The discipline and dedication instilled in me as an athlete bode well for what it takes to make it as an artist. Upon completely my MFA at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco, my plan was always to work for a large fashion house in Paris or Milan. However, my destiny had me working for smaller European designers learning all aspects of the trade which later led me to starting my own fashion label.
SNIDER is an American made label with production done in New York City. The brand is carried in specialty boutiques around the country and sold globally. It is important to me that my designs stay made in the United States. The boutiques that carry my work have in house tailors and superb sales staff to guarantee the attention to detail that is necessary in taking care of the client.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
This has been as they say, the road less traveled and there is good reason why. Being an artist is one thing, however being an artist and running your own global business are two opposing worlds colliding in hope you can make it succeed. The creativity aspect is lovely and beautiful, a metamorphosis of thoughts leaked to paper and then becoming a 3d product, that becomes a work of art or a dress. To which you must first be able to finance this idea and then sell it in a highly competitive market. The creation that is part of you is now business. The key is finding a niche market and really appreciating who is supporting your business.

As fashion continues to quicken its pace, all you want to do as a designer is slow the pace down. The goal is creating work that is going to last, not be discarded in a couple of months for the next best thing. It is challenging to be in a continual state of newness, and visionary of what is to come in the year ahead. This is why unique research is so important in transcending freshness.
The road has not been smooth and still is not, but I would not trade it. Like the fabric of my creations so is my story woven of who I am as an artist. Being open minded to what comes next helps with the evolution and the challenges.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I am the creative director and designer of my namesake SNIDER fashion brand, designed for a modern woman in motion — dynamic, gifted, and strong. The SNIDER collection blows up tired notions of what is possible: at once powerful and pretty; feminine and ferocious; rebellious and refined; jaw dropping, but never desperate or pretentious. My designs aren’t about following trends; they are about raising the bar, and then raising it again and again.

As a former world-class track athlete, my aspiration is to imbue innovative creations with an athletic sensibility rooted in determination, confidence, freedom, kinetic grace and high-performance. The same can be said for the groundbreaking, doing and producing women who wear them. SNIDER (German for “tailor”) reflects the well-travelled, astute, spirited and spiritual ethos that I strive to obtain in my work. SNIDER pieces deconstruct the deconstructed look, even as they re-invent it with exposed linings, disruptive edges, iconoclastic seaming; visionary textures, shapes and shades.

SNIDER designs amp up functionality with 1,000 watts of personality. For the women who wear SNIDER, this unique alchemy makes the transition from daytime to evening as simple as a change of shoes — from rat-race to ravishing; meeting room to mezzanine; client to club, Gate 5A to 5th Ave. This vivacious versatility empowers the wearer with a world of possibilities, options and opportunities. My designs give today’s extraordinary, self-assured, self-actualized woman of the world one thing above all: “more than…”.

What are your plans for the future?
First up is trunk show season. This is the time of year where I visit my stores around the country with new styles and interact with my clients. This part of the vocation I thoroughly enjoy as it is engaging with the people wearing SNIDER. This is an opportunity to discuss fit, styling, share travel plans and also future needs for the consumer.

Now living in the south, I will begin to move away from designing the traditional two seasonal collections (fall/winter and spring/summer) per annum. Instead, the brand will focus on catering to the vibrance and energy of warmer climates and lifestyle, which I am really looking forward too. This means that clients can expect to see a stronger emphasis on lighter fabrics and brighter colors through resort and cruise wear styles.
SNIDER has just landed a retail market in the Bahamas which is in stride with the future plans. Now we just need to find the perfect retail fit in the Raleigh area for the brand to call home.

Pricing:

• Tops $195-$425
• Skirts $395- $695
• Trousers $415-$525
• Jackets $415-$795
• Dresses $425-$850

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.stacisnider.com
• Instagram: stacisnider
• Facebook: Snider Fashion
• Twitter: StaciSnider1