Inside the new ATM Anthony Thomas Melillo store.
Photo by MAtthew Kappas courtesy of ATM
The quest for the perfect t-shirt has been omnipresent in the American sportswear realm since its inception. For those in pursuit of elevated style, such as the fashion flock, the endeavor is quite serious. For Tony Melillo, working as an editor and stylist, the obsessive search for the best-fitting and best-quality T-shirt led him to launch his namesake brand, ATM by Anthony Thomas Melillo, in 2012. Thirteen years later, both Melillo and the brand have grown. Now with a new partnership inked last year, the brand is ready to evolve into its next era of growth, which includes a new retail space in Soho.
“The brand needed a reboot. We hadn’t raised our prices since 2012,” Melillo said over Zoom. To achieve this, Melillo partnered with friend and business associate, Steve Madden. His company, Steven Madden Ltd., acquired ATM Anthony Thomas Melillo in November 2024. In this new phase, Melillo continues to serve as creative director, working closely with the Steve Madden team on business operations.
Inside the new ATM Anthony Thomas Melillo store.
Photo by MAtthew Kappas courtesy of ATM
Melillo was keenly aware of not becoming too complacent with his loyal but aging customer. “I want to be able to keep them, but I also want to expand to new customers, those 35 to 45 and the 28 to 38 set. We need to put time, effort, and some oil into this machine, which was not just about a partner but addressing the loyal 55+ aged customer and the newer 35 to 45 shoppers while attracting even younger ones,” he explained.
His personal life gave him insight into two key demographics: the young parents aged 28-38 that he saw at school drop-off (Melillo has a 10-year-old son) and the college-aged kids of friends from his generation who also sport his offerings
Tony Melillo of ATM Anthony Thomas Melillo
Photo courtesy of ATM
“This idea sparked to recruit college students as friends of the brand especially timed to parents’ weekend visits in the fall, and so far, we have about 100 in the works. I’m very aware of the youth culture, and I realize that the best way to explore it further is through college. We’ve always attracted cross generations; mom, daughter, granddaughter,” he said. The brand also has men’s offerings sported by multi-generational male customers.
“This is a 360-degree waking up of the brand and reboot. We were complacent with our audience that was getting older. You need to make sure you have more than one audience,” he continued.
To help with the reboot, Melillo engaged the Los-Angeles-based branding agency De-Yan to rethink his logo and website, and to explore his retail presence on TikTok. The result was a logo that was modernized with an expanded font, accent colors like pink integrated into the branding, and elevated online creative touches.
The mood expanded into the new store, which was also heavily inspired by a new home the designer and his husband bought during Covid and in Amagansett, NY, where they moved after living in Florida for six and a half years.
“I think the store design has evolved. My DNA has always been my DNA. The store incorporates some of the design elements and materials used in the house on Long Island. It was more of an evolution; we wanted it to look more elevated than it ever had been,” he added.
A campaign image from the ATM pre Fall 2025 collection.
Photo courtesy of ATM
The new store is located at Mercer and Spring (he closed a previous store on Bleecker Street in 2019)”Having a partner like Steve, who is really smart with retail—he has 189 stores of his own—is beyond helpful. They’re super successful as a company. The first thing he said was, ‘We need a store in Soho,'” Melillo continued.
The space was founded in January 2025 and opened in late August. “It’s a great opportunity to be on a great corner, in front of everything. The foot traffic is crazy. In a three-block radius, you have every designer and contemporary store there is.” Melillo and his partners are already considering another store in either the Hamptons or Aventura Mall in Florida, which has a large South American clientele.
Along with De-Yan’s touch on the website, logo, and TikTok shop that is in the works, Melillo brought in a new team of merchandisers, tech people, production people, and designers. “I feel like that helped freshen up the house,” he said.
The stores are one aspect of the DTC shift, which now accounts for 70 percent of the brand’s business. “When we launched in 2012, department stores were a must and accounted for 70 percent of the company.
“We invested heavily in our DTC business in terms of the collateral and making sure that what we do well is really visually showing,” Melillo continued.
ATM started with perfect T’s, but currently the brand has expanded into other categories. “I’m fixated on pants. The Lee pants, exclusive to the soho Store, look good on all shapes and sizes. Establishing a pant business is hard, but I am obsessed with it. The brand also offers sweaters and a selection of leather.
“The motto around here is that I don’t reinvent the wheel every season because I am in an item business. I do need to reinvent the way it’s presented; whether it’s a new fabric, or a new pattern, or something else that gives that specific item a change,” he added. At the core, his designs address three tenets: fit, feel, and shape.
Considering his new partner is known for shoes, it’s not hard to imagine that footwear might be a future category. “You can’t rush this, though, or it probably won’t turn out well,” he added.
In rebooting his business, Melillo has also rebooted his personal life and inspiration. “Life on the beach could be isolating, but coming back to New York, I find it very stimulating. Once I made the deal, I knew I had to come back to New York. It doesn’t matter if it’s a hemline or someone who isn’t my typical customer, there is so much eye-candy here just walking home,” he said, adding, “New York was a big part of me knowing that this city was going to help me really generate the newness that I needed to get this company up and going. You have to keep going, you must keep moving. And it doesn’t matter your age.”
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/roxannerobinson/2025/10/23/atm-by-anthony-tony-melillo-opens–soho-store-as-part-of-brand-reboot/
