Dennis Todisco and Instagram bring street style to life in men’s fashion

Instagram has been the street of style for as long as the digital age has been streaming. Dennis Todisco traces its style since 2012 with @Outfitgrid, an Instagram he founded as a hobby to display his choice of clothes for the day. Geometrically arranging his selection of clothes, sneakers and accessories in a grid, Todisco immediately made his friends do the same.

He researched and picked a hashtag, #outfitgrid, and the rest is social media history. “I can’t take credit for people putting their clothes on the floor. But I can take credit for creating the community around me, ”says Todisco. He highlighted one person who he says put together the best outfit grid at 8pm every night, and still does to this day.

Inspired by the kids in his neighborhood, Ken Griffey Jr., and the Fresh Prince, Todisco, from Boston, got into streetwear early on. He found himself on an internship at e-commerce retailer and blog Karmaloop, then turned to branding for famous streetwear brand Diamond Supply. Upon arriving at Nike, he led global digital marketing for social media where Todisco would work on the first Air Max Day.

At this point, Dennis Todisco was working on the infamous SNKR app where sneakerheads would wait in a queue to shop for sought-after pairs of Nike sneakers and other exclusive collaborations. Todisco takes credit for building the style-based community with @Outfitgrid which has some 778,000 followers and has helped streetwear connect with technology.

Todisco would bridge the gap between social media and business that was essentially silenced from the start by users giving likes to influencers. Moving on to Twitter for the next four years, he would be the leader of their creative partnerships with influencers. Now, as the leader of Instagram’s Streetwear and Sneaker partnerships, Todisco has an overview of all street stylers on the fly on the “gram”.

“The cool thing about Instagram is that people keep going [Instagram] connect with the things they love. Connect with the people you care about. Communities like @OutfitGrid have allowed people to come together around the shared love of fashion, shared sneakers – style. It’s been a part of that influence to show off. It’s competitive. People want to have the newest thing – the coolest thing, the new colourway, ”Todisco brags about the ability to share these ideas via Instagram.

He also advocates for the advancement of social fusion and inclusion. “The great thing about the community is that it allows people to share their style. In a non-judgmental way. You don’t wear the clothes, removing the micro-judgments. It’s more about sharing ideas and sharing style. We see it often on Instagram, people are more and more interested in fashion or cooking. You can dive deep into things and gain understanding and inspiration from around the world, ”notes Todisco.

“Following some people [on Instagram] I have gained a greater appreciation for brands like Capital city, Needles, Visvim, or Goros. These are all [brands] that unless you live in Tokyo, it is difficult to be exposed to it. I feel like Instagram has allowed me – personally – to improve my style and become more aware of everything that’s going on, ”Todisco said.

“90 percent of people on Instagram follow at least one business,” says the Instagram insider. “People come to Instagram to connect, learn and be inspired. We are closing that gap and allowing people to shop directly while they shop and be inspired. It’s easy, it’s fun, and it takes away that choir or that shopping list. It makes for a fun experience. It’s super cool from a consumer perspective, and even from a brand perspective. It’s your fans, your consumers, the people you talk to every day, and Instagram empowers your base to discover and buy – creating a better experience for everyone.

Reporting to a full-fledged style influencer, Eva chen, Fashion Partnerships Director at Instagram, Todisco is working with Instagram to expand its footprint in the menswear space. Helping brands find new ways to leverage “IG” to tell their stories and connect with audiences.

Todisco always gets style cues from his feed with Instagram influencers like @ wuzg00d, and accounts like @ SEE / KNOW, @Leaguefits, and @ThrowingFits which categorizes style everywhere, especially the “Hyper-Dad Swag” we see in men’s clothing brands today. He says, “People want to get dressed after wearing sweatpants for over twelve months. We see this new preparation emerging. Everything from moccasins to dress shoes. Aime Leon Dore just released his fall / winter lookbook, and there are plenty of adult silhouettes out there, like cardigans, vests, and coats. Noah founder Brendan Babenzien has just been appointed Creative Director of J.Crew. I think as an industry we are definitely going to see more changes in that direction. “

On September 10, a live chat hosted by The Met Store and VogueInstagram Fashion and Shopping Partnerships Manager Eva Chen spoke to Virgil Abloh and included special capsules in collaboration with her high-end streetwear brand Off White. These live chats will be held to celebrate the Costume Institute’s 2021 exhibit, In America: A Lexicon of Fashion through April 2022 at 11:45 a.m. EST every Friday. New monthly products featuring special edition items created especially for the Met. They include American fashion brands Bode, Brother Vellies, Christopher John Rogers, Collina Strada, Gypsy Sport, Prabal Gurung and Pyer Moss.