From Wall Street to Fashion: How Brandon Snower Started Le Alfré
WITH BRANDON SNOWER
Discover Le Alfre's unparalleled approach in creating a captivating community that effortlessly combines playfulness and sophistication.
Photography, Santiago Elliott
Words, Igee Okafor In Conversation with Brandon Snower
VIEW GALLERY
Meet Brandon Snower, the 26-year-old founder, and CEO of Le Alfré, a men's clothing brand based in New York redefining the traditional menswear market. Standing tall at 6'3", Brandon hails from the windy city of Chicago, where his passion for fashion and design began to take shape. After graduating from college, Brandon moved to New York, where he found himself surrounded by unique, community-driven brands. However, as someone who favored classic, elegant men's clothing, he felt a gap in the market for a brand that combined top-quality European craftsmanship with a fun, unique, and relaxed vibe. Thus, the idea for Le Alfré was born.
Brandon wanted to create a new menswear heritage by incorporating unique elements that made it inherently more fun, playful, and culturally relevant while maintaining high-quality European craftsmanship. He wanted to bring something new and build a brand that appealed to today's generation of men.
Brandon is in a unique position, having yet to study fashion or product design. Instead, he is entirely self-taught, which he believes is a significant advantage. Brandon studied Learning & Organizational Change with a minor in Leadership at Northwestern University, which seems like a far cry from the fashion industry. However, he believes his diverse experiences have given him a unique perspective that has helped him navigate the menswear industry. He left Wall Street to pursue his dream of creating a men's clothing brand and had to learn everything from scratch. Brandon's unique perspective is rooted in his experiences as a millennial guy, which makes his brand stand out. He founded Le Alfré at the age of 23 and quickly got to work on bringing his ideas to life. The initial reception was challenging, but Brandon persevered, attending events and meeting new people in the industry to gain exposure and recognition.
So much of my view and what I incorporate in Le Alfré is rooted in my experiences as a 26-year-old millennial.
For Brandon, Le Alfré is not just another clothing brand. His focus is on creating a community that extends beyond fashion. The brand's three core aspects are quality, playfulness, and elegance, which authentically attract men who appreciate a relaxed, fun, and classy aesthetic. Brandon believes Le Alfré appeals to men with this vibe at their core, regardless of their background or upbringing.
By partnering with organizations that have never been worked with before, such as Trust Fund Terry and Gentlemen's Gram, Brandon is building a new tradition relevant to the menswear community.
IO: Talk to me about how your current role at Le Alfré requires you to be on the move with social events and travel.
BS: I’m always on the move. As a founder, I’m always meeting new people and building relationships within the industry, so my schedule has to be flexible because I never know what events and meetings will come about. Being based in New York makes it much easier to attend relevant social events and facilitate relationships with other founders, CEOs, creatives, designers, investors, and like-minded people which ultimately plays a crucial part in growing the brand. As a founder & CEO, it’s easy to put your head down and work on building the brand. But a key element in building is socializing and networking, so any opportunity I have to meet people—whether that’s another brand dropping a new collection, holiday parties, speaker events, etc.—I’m there. I’m also the type of person that would instead meet in person than over Zoom. I genuinely believe that business should be done face-to-face – the old-school way. And I think many people have lost this touch, and from what I’ve experienced over the last year of launching the brand, doing business in person significantly impacts the business's success. I made sure I did this even before I founded the brand. I stayed in Portugal for a month, meeting every supplier and factory in our supply chain. I visited and met with members of our fabric mill, label supplier, button-maker, and shirtmaker. I realized the value and importance of socializing, traveling, and “showing up.” As we grow, speaking with new brands and meeting new people, I am starting to travel significantly more. Last month I was in L.A to discuss a potential collaboration with a huge brand. And two days later, I had to fly to Portugal and stay for two weeks to meet with new suppliers and factories as we are expanding product categories and do two photoshoots since we’re releasing new products and limited edition collaborations for spring/summer & fall/winter.
IO: Why did you decide to launch Le Alfré? When did you found, and how was the reception initially?
BS: I started Le Alfré to create a new vibe & aesthetic to traditional menswear that focused on combining a fun & casual “playfulness” that I thought was lacking. I felt that many brands in the space were either too simple and cheap or too formal and old-fashioned with an unnecessarily hefty price tag. There was a need for something created adequately for today’s generation of men that combined top-quality European craftsmanship with a fun, unique, relaxed vibe. When I had the idea for Le Alfré, I was 23 years old. Living in New York right out of college, I was surrounded by unique, community-driven brands. But as someone who wears more classic, elegant men’s clothing, nothing appealed to me from a design or culture standpoint. I felt the classic menswear brands I followed were the same for a long time and no longer appealed to me—or did for many guys I know. I wanted to bring something new; create a new menswear heritage by incorporating unique elements that make it inherently more fun, playful, and culturally relevant while maintaining high-quality European craftsmanship. We’ve already partnered with organizations no one has ever worked with before, like dropping a limited-edition shirt Trust Fund Terry—one of the most popular finance-meme accounts on Instagram—and a limited-edition rugby with Gentlemen’s Gram—the coolest and classiest men’s mood board in the world. So much of traditional menswear is based on tradition and heritage. As men, we all love this, but that doesn’t mean it has to be dull and old-fashioned. And we’re making a new tradition, building something relevant in the menswear community.
The initial reception has been great so far. And we’re only a year old. People are starting to recognize that we are becoming players in the space. Initially, it wasn't easy because I didn’t come from the fashion industry and had zero connections. But by going to events and meeting new people in the space, the brand has started to gain exposure and get some recognition—already being featured in GQ, Robb Report, Gear Patrol, and Men’s Health, to name a few.
THE LOOK
Shirt, Le Alfré
IO: You’re in a unique position because you did not attend school for fashion or product design. How has it been navigating your unique perspective within the menswear industry?
BS: Not going to lie; it’s been a challenge. When I left Wall St. to start the brand, I typed “How to start a clothing brand" in Google. I had to look up so many definitions, terminology, and concepts that for people in the industry, or those who went to fashion school, it’s as easy to know as their ABCs. So building this brand and designing and making products has been 100% self-taught, and I think it’s a huge advantage. Having been operating in the industry for a year now, I can see how different my perspective is from many other brands and people in the space. So much of my view and what I incorporate in Le Alfré is rooted in my experiences as a 26-year-old millennial. Because I was never thinking about working in fashion until a few years ago when I started the brand, I was never exposed to the “norm” of the fashion industry. I’m building the brand, designing products, and cultivating a community relevant to how I see the next generation of classic menswear. I enjoy culture and lifestyle as much as creating physical products, and I think that perspective is very evident in Le Alfré, which makes it so fun and unique. Whether partnering with other brands I like, incorporating art, movies, characters, tv shows, bars, restaurants, or even using specific terminology, why does not blend it into fashion? I don’t try to be anything I’m not, which translates to Le Alfré. The brand is super authentic for a certain vibe & aesthetic that we are creating that speaks to many guys out there, no matter if you’re a millennial or Gen-Z or like my dad, who grew up in the 50s.
IO: You’re always on the go, and I am sure you’re working on more than you’re letting on. You started with shirts and now offer martini glasses, tees, rugbies, bags, and artwork. How did just starting with shirting lead you here, and does it indicate a larger brand goal?
BS: I always knew Le Alfré would be more than just shirts. We started with this category because it was the area that I was most familiar with, being that I worked on Wall St and grew up wearing oxfords. And with so many standard shirts, it was the perfect opportunity to launch the brand around something different. Something a bit more unique and playful and represented iconic men’s culture. And so we found our casual Oxford button-down shirts, all with white contrast collars inspired by the 80s Wall St. From there, it gave us a path to implement more of this culture and lifestyle of play and elegance fundamental to our ethos and brand. So with that came the gentlemen’s martini, or “Le Martini” as we call it, art prints inspired by the 20’s Deco period, banker bags, limited edition collaborations, etc. The ultimate vision is to create a new, fun, sophisticated lifestyle brand that represents modern men’s culture with a contemporary vibe & aesthetic for the next generation.
I’m building the brand, designing products, and cultivating a community that is relevant to how I see the next generation of classic menswear.
IO: When did you realize Le Alfré could be a big business?
BS: When starting any company, you always believe that what you’re doing is going to grow and be successful. But also like starting any company, you’re constantly faced with doubts. This might result from sales, rejections, lack of support and resources, etc. Every founder experiences some doubt when starting their company. But even with some doubt, I always had a clear vision and strong belief and confidence it would succeed and mark a place in the industry. And it’s not even close to where the brand will be. With things like this, it takes time, and the most important thing is to push through the mental barriers and continue to progress. And that’s what I’ve done for the last year or so, and it has paid off. It’s been amazing to have partnered with so many unique brands and people in such a short period.
With thousands of members last year, we dropped three limited edition collaborations (with one having 523 attendees at our SoHo pop-up). We teamed up with Del Toro Shoes as an exclusive partner. We created our first martini-inspired art print with world-renowned menswear artist Joseph Tate. I dropped “the best shirt to buy under $100” by Gear Patrol, and it sold out completely. Last week, we launched a limited edition capsule of 20 archive prints with Sonic Editions that speaks to our vibe as a brand. We designed 21 products in 7 categories, including shirts, tees, rugby, hats, bags, food & beverage, and art, with much more coming later this year. Not only that, but we’ve been recognized by some of the biggest names in fashion and featured in over ten publications, including GQ, Robb Report, Gear Patrol, and Men’s Health, without any paid sponsorships. And to top it off, going viral on TikTok with two million+ views.
IO: I find it very interesting you’ve chosen to document your life as an entrepreneur on TikTok. As a business owner, is it essential to have a social media presence? and for you was it an intentional marketing strategy?
BS: It absolutely is. I think a lot of entrepreneurs, especially in the classic menswear space, don’t leverage their journey and creation to their advantage. It’s not something that comes naturally to me by any means, but it’s helped me not only gain exposure to the brand and contribute to sales, but it’s a chance to build community in a way that’s unique.
I found it most accessible and most effective for me to share my personal journey and challenges in building the brand rather than just posting content on behalf of Le Alfré. I already do this on Instagram, and it works. It was a new strategy to show people what it’s like to start a company from scratch with0ut knowledge or expertise. So many people can relate to this, and it’s important for me as a founder to instill a sense of confidence that I can be an example of hard work, resilience, and self-belief. And I think that’s why so many people found it appealing and relevant, which is awesome. Now they can learn from my mistakes and see what it really takes day to day to build a multi-million dollar fashion brand. I think when building a community through TikTok, it has to be done through the founders’ lenses. So much of a clothing brand’s marketing as photoshoots, models, videos, and mood boards – which, don’t get me wrong—is necessary, but to separate and add that extra level of community and engagement, founders & CEOs must interact with their members. Sales have skyrocketed, and I’ve gotten investors from TikTok, which is amazing. The hardest part is constantly engaging and creating content. I have a million things to do, and since there are so many things I do, it’s been really difficult to get everything and condense it to 30-60 seconds. You’d think having too much content is a good thing, but as someone who does everything at the company, it can be overwhelming and tiresome to consistently pump content for my 25,000 followers.
IO: You seem to always be on the go. How have you been able to maintain balance and motivation? Have there been any downsides?
BS: I think the word “balance” is relative and subjective. I think most people that know me say I don’t have a typical work-life “balance,” but the way I see it, I love what I do, and so if that means staying in and working on designing new products or creating new campaigns, then it’s no problem. I don’t work 24/7 and find time to do things I enjoy, like working out, watching documentaries, hanging out with friends, and exploring nice cocktail bars in the city. But growing Le Alfré has a more meaningful purpose than simply selling products and making money, like other brands. Yeah, there are downsides, for sure. Building a company on your own can get lonely. Not many people do what I’m doing in the space, so it can be hard speaking with people who can be another set of eyes and ears while also giving me advice and insight. There are also so many times when you see your friends and people you follow on Instagram have the chance to go out on the weekends, travel, splurge a bit of bar and restaurants, and I can’t do that. As a one-person company growing and staying lean, I must sacrifice a lot now to be the next multi-million dollar menswear brand. But all of this motivates me even more.
I’ll always be motivated. What’s being built is more than “another brand.” We’re building the next generation of classic menswear, which is motivational. To me, clothing is an extension of someone’s being and personality. The fact that we can design products that bring men confidence while also creating a vibe & community that men could be a part of, it’s super motivating. The impact we want to have in the industry, on men worldwide, is the aesthetic and culture we want people to feel. I believe that we will change how this industry builds community and menswear.
IO: Where do you like spending time in New York City when you're not working?
BS: I live near Madison Square Park, so I always like sitting on a bench and people watch to decompress. I’m not a huge late-night partier anymore—those were my finance days—but I love trying new, old-school, stylish establishments in the city and having a few martinis. My favorite is Grand Central Oyster Bar, and a few that I recently enjoyed were The Mulberry and Lobby Bar at The Hotel Chelsea.
I like to relax by taking walks around the city or sitting down on a bench at the park and just thinking – even though these thoughts are usually for the business, haha. It’s a different kind of thought – a more big-picture strategy. It sounds pretty dull, but I really enjoy it, and it helps take my mind off the day-to-day tasks and rejuvenates my brain and body. I’m a huge documentary guy, so I like to relax with some good docs. Again, pretty dull stuff, but when you’re brain is constantly working nonstop, you want to chill and not think that much, haha. And a few martinis and good chats never hurt.
THE LOOK
Shirt, Le Alfré
IO: What has been the most gratifying part of your journey so far?
BS: The most enjoyable part of me is being able to impact the lives of so many men and women by making products they love and creating a community where they connect to and feel special. It’s an unbelievable feeling seeing our community members wearing their Le Alfré products and posting about it or sending us reviews on how much they love wearing them or how many compliments they get from strangers. Le Alfré was created in the first place to build a community that people can be comfortable in and feel as if it is an extension of their lifestyle, interests, or aspirations in a fun, relaxed & classy way. And seeing thousands of people enjoy this vibe & aesthetic is gratifying. Le Alfré will always be community-focused, and whatever we can do to improve the experience of those in our community is most enjoyable.
IO: It’s ten years later; what do you see for Le Alfré?
BS: I see Le Alfré as one of menswear’s most fun & exciting communities to be a part of worldwide. I have high expectations for the brand, and let’s say that in 10 years, Le Alfré will not only be a clothing brand but something much more prominent in the realm of man and lifestyle. You’ll have to see what I mean.
