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Daniel Radcliffe, wearing a Todd Snyder bespoke tuxedo, took home the Tony Award for Best Supporting Actor in the revival of Stephen Sondheim’s musical about friendship.
On Sunday, June 16th, actor Daniel Radcliffe wore a custom amethyst tuxedo designed by Todd to the Tony Awards. Radcliffe had been nominated for Best Supporting Actor for his performance as composer Charley Kringas in a revival of Stephen Sondheim’s musical, Merrily We Roll Along. Initially panned over 40 years ago, it’s now a bonafide hit — the musical is a tale of three friends told backward in time and how the ambition of one, Franklin Shephard, consumes his relationships.
Todd initially got the call to design the tuxedo because he’s a New York-based designer; one who once lived in Hell’s Kitchen, in fact, a stone's throw from Broadway. Radcliffe partnered with his longtime stylist, Sam Spector, and Todd to create a made-for-him look for the night: a peak lapel tuxedo jacket in a British mohair blend, made by the experts at Rochester Tailored Clothing in upstate New York. Todd began working on the suit in May, leading up to this weekend’s event.
Designing a custom look for the red carpet is a real honor. Everything needs to be considered: what others might be wearing, what will look elegant, what will stand out without being too loud, and — most importantly — how the person wearing it wants to feel and what they’re trying to say.
As Radcliffe himself told WWD, “He's a New York-based designer, and the Tonys [are] a real New York moment.” Radcliffe’s stylist, Spector, knew of Radcliffe’s longtime admiration for Todd’s work.
Spector, who also works with Alan Cumming, Hasan Minhaj, Brendan Fraser and more, has formerly served as the Fashion Editor of OUT Magazine and held the Market Editor title at Esquire’s Big Black Book. He gave us the down low on what went into creating Radcliffe’s look yesterday.
Todd puts the finishing touches on Daniel’s tuxedo with the help of his stylist, Sam Spector.
What’s Daniel’s everyday aesthetic, and how did you adapt it for this?
“His everyday style is very casual, effortless…[but] we do special things for important events, [like] the Tonys. Usually, he’s pretty classic, so I wanted to keep that but do something a little more bold, without straying too far from his normal style. We played with that with the color here, especially, which is very special.”
What do you always keep in mind when creating a look?
“Proportion is really important to me. Proper fit. Classic menswear tailoring. I’m a stickler for sleeve length, matching the proportions of the collar of a shirt to the lapel and the accessories, like a bowtie, I always want to make everything work together.”
What makes your job as a stylist easier or harder?
“Communication between myself and the client. It’s an intimate relationship, and being able to see what they have in mind and what they’re comfortable with is key. That’s why Dan and I work so well together; we’re able to communicate what he’s thinking for each individual look.”
As Radcliffe told WWD, “My day-to-day life is very jeans and a T-shirt…on a night like the Tonys, it’s a nice night to…embrace dressing up and looking better than I normally do…I’m always about trying to find things that are simple and well fitted and pretty straightforward, but with some sort of expression of personality.”
With the opening of Todd’s second store in Los Angeles earlier this month, there will definitely be more red-carpet designs in the future. As for Radcliffe’s tuxedo, Todd says, “I wanted to make sure it complemented him and his personal style. He’s always had a very great, classic sartorial style, but done with just a little bit of a twist.”
Photographs by OK MCCAUSLAND for WWD, Penske Media Corporation
Interviewed by Kate Andersen
