New York-based menswear designer Todd Snyder has partnered with Lagavulin on Time & Craft, a limited-edition collection inspired by the landscape of Islay, Scotland, and the traditions of the single malt Scotch whisky’s distillery. Snyder—who held influential roles at Ralph Lauren, The Gap, and J.Crew before he founded his eponymous label 15 years ago—is no stranger to collaboration, with coveted releases in partnership with D.S. & Durga, Timex, L.L. Bean, and more.
As a single malt Scotch drinker with a preference for Lagavulin 16-Year-Old, Snyder easily translated the colors and textures of Islay into a capsule of outerwear, knitwear, and accessories. Two pieces incorporate textiles from Scotland’s historic Lovat Mill: an Italian suede Stable Jacket lined in Lagavulin’s Islay Tartan, officially registered with the Scottish Register of Tartans in 2025, and Snyder’s signature Chore Coat, cut from wool incorporating the tartan’s green, peat brown, and copper pattern.
Courtesy of Lagavulin, image by Boo George…
Snyder credits Frank Muytjens, former head of menswear design at J.Crew, as the person who introduced him to Scotch. He recalls them sitting together at The Okura Tokyo with a dram. Since then, Lagavulin 16 has been a go-to. “For obvious reasons, the smoke is everything,” he tells Surface. “It’s one of my favorite things to look forward to in the evening. It has so much warmth and body.”
“What I realized early on is that we share the same ethos as far as respect for craft,” Snyder continues. “With Lagavulin, there is such a reverence for that. When I design, I am very much the same way. The provenance of things is so important to me—and having respect for where things begin and the ability to endure generations. You are left with this liquid that is so magnificent. It’s remarkable when you think about it. Not just the survival of it but that there was something made over a hundred years ago and it’s not only the same thing but people revere it.”
Courtesy of Lagavulin, image by Boo George…
Before Snyder began to transform the sensory and even emotion-laden attributes of Lagavulin into the collection, he stepped into the brand heritage. “When I start with a new collaborator, I want to know what makes them tick. I want to be a historian and I want to help tell the story. I insert myself as if I work there, as if I were there a hundred years ago. Some of the employees have been at Lagavulin for 20 or 30 years. They represent generations upon generations.”
Then, he began to integrate a windswept Scottish aesthetic into his design process, which he says is oriented around the ethos “America, informed by the world.” Snyder didn’t make a list of heritage pieces he associated with Scotland; he created a character and designed the world around him. “It’s casting a movie in a way,” he says. “I think about the character, and what’s the jacket he is going to wear. How can we add a blanket to this? A tie. It came together rather quickly because I am always working around a character.”
He sees travel as one of the most important influences on Todd Snyder New York. “Taste isn’t something you are born with,” he says. “It’s something you build over time. It’s something you acquire. It’s the people you meet. It’s the places you eat. It’s the music you listen to. You slowly start to collect who you are. It’s the patina that adds the human element.” All of the subtle touches within the Time & Craft collection are born from this lived experience.
