Today, Schneider splits his time between Antwerp and Berlin, where he teaches fashion design at Universität der Künste, a post he inherited from Vivienne Westwood. But Antwerp informs much of his work, in both the friendly and the adversary way. “The starting point for developing my esthetic was Antwerp,” Schneider says. “Coming there when the Belgians tore everything, washed everything, destroyed everything, which was a new amazing feeling of fashion. In the Academy they want you to be a visionary, to do it your own away, so by the time I graduated, I felt a need to do nice, smart clothes. I think the Belgians makes clothes with a soul, but I wanted to give my clothes not a Bohemian humanity, but a smart humanity. Fashion doesn’t have to be so Bohemian. The person who wears my clothes doesn’t have to cover and hide his personality.”
     To keep free from drama, Schneider keeps his prices as low as he can — much lower than most designers who make their clothes in third-world countries. “Pricing is very important to me,” he says. “Clothes should be honest. When I see a shirt in a store that costs more than 250 euros, it becomes a status symbol, nearly unwearable. I want to keep it all alive and effortless.”
     Schneider’s resistance to putting on airs has served him well. His clothes are a staple in such influential stores like Opening Ceremony in the US, and Lift in Japan. But you know what they say: slow and steady wins the race.