Corridor a brand i truly love and enjoy, woven for a well lived life. Corridor is a Brooklyn based brand founded by Dan Snyder in 2013.
I had the pleasure of meeting Dan a few years ago while working with a friend during Paris fashion week and started to work more closely with Corridor from then on. I knew when i launched the store i wanted to represent the brand in some capacity and share the magic that is Corridor.
So i had the opportunity to throw him a few questions to deep dive into his process and share how he creates such unique garments and textures that are now intwined in Corridors DNA.
WR: What was your background in fashion and how did it shape your vision for Corridor, and what inspired you to start the brand?
DS: My background is an interest in the arts and in the craft of tailoring. These are the things that lend me to start Corridor. In doing so; I continue to be inspired by paintings, music and vintage - these are the things that I try to put into the brand and into the garments themselves. In a way, I believe that we are always listening to cosmic radio stations; whether we realise it or not; and I like a particular radio station, and this radio frequency can be interpreted as clothing, art, music, food and more. Today my focus is on my frequency to help me tune in and create from that level.
WR: What is the philosophy behind Corridor's aesthetic, and how do you balance modern trends with timeless design in your collections?
DS: Corridor as an art form starts with practically - how is the garment used? Who is wearing the garment? Where does it sit in their closet? Is it useful?
For me the garment must make sense for people's lives because to me, that is what's true, it's clothing. How can we create tools for people's lives in regards to usefulness and/or simply beauty - adorn oneself. There are ways in which they lean into expressive weaves and colours and yet keep them in the same world as a beautifully worn pair of jeans. This is the crux of what we do - a balance of expressiveness and groundedness.
WR: Can you walk us through your creative process when designing a new collection? How do you start, and what influences your final decisions?
DS: My process begins with colour. I typically look through thousands of colours before creating a palette. I'm always looking at art (mostly painting) and colour theory to push my own conception of how to use colour. Colour means a lot - every colour is a frequency and that frequency is an emotion. When using multiple colours at the same time - one can create a deeper feeling and complex emotion. One can relate colours to musical notes (in fact, they both carry the same vibration) - they are the same - so, when a group of colours strikes a chord - it literally is doing that.
The English painter JMW Turner plays the most beautiful music. His piece "Light and Colour (Goethe's Theory) – The Morning after the Deluge – Moses Writing the Book of Genesis" continues to inspire me. As does Rothko, but differently. Rothko through vibratory edges and colour work was able to bring another dimension or plane into his work - much like Op Art artists such Vasarely and Bridget Riley - when we can, we attempt to use the same principles to bring the viewer into the garment and textile - while maintaining the balance of it still being wearable.
This is our challenge - creating colourful harmonic resonances that push to 4D. Of course, not every piece can be there - but at heart of what we're doing is expressing the soul of that love radio station; expressing deeper ineffable truths through colour and pattern; and sometimes we just make pants. Both are true at the same time.
Corridor SS25
