JOHN VARVATOS CELEBRATES 10 YEAR ANNIVERSARY
JOHN VARVATOS CELEBRATES 10 YEAR ANNIVERSARY
Fall 2010
---For immediate release
June 2, 2010 –John Varvatos, the brand, is synonymous with a lifestyle, a rock ’n’ roll sensibility and clothing, where a new school attitude meets an old school grace. This year John Varvatos and the Varvatos family celebrate 10 years and the man behind the brand has proven in a decade that he can do what only a handful of others have accomplished over many. The 10 year anniversary ad campaign which will be released this Fall reflects just that; a collage of musicians and artists from Iggy Pop to ZZ Top that make up the John Varvatos family portrait. Varvatos says, as he reflects, “We have lived through 9/11, international strife of great magnitude, global financial crisis and the explosion of digital technology. My company has come out stronger, more alive and more open to change. I am most proud of my team and their accomplishments in helping us become one of the top designer brands in the world.”
It was after successful careers at Ralph Lauren and Calvin Klein, where he was head of menswear design for both companies that John Varvatos decided to go out on his own. He launched his line with a Fall 2000 runway collection to much acclaim and instant success. The collection brought a contemporary sensibility to classic menswear, where historically there was no blend of the two. The quality fabrics and exquisitely tailored cuts displayed a confidence and elegance that was unparalleled in a new line. John Varvatos made his mark as a designer who could draw inspiration from the past, repurpose these ideas into something entirely new and use his passion for music to give his clothes an edge.
At the outset, Varvatos drew attention and respect by launching a complete line which included tailored clothes, sportswear, outerwear, accessories and shoes. For Varvatos this cohesiveness was important in defining the look of the collection. Critics, editors, buyers and consumers applauded him for translating his experience into something new and making clothes that could give a man a relaxed confidence while making him look good from head to toe. Before the first collection entered stores John Varvatos received the CFDA Perry Ellis Award for new talent, the first of many accolades. Just a few months later Varvatos opened his first free standing boutique in Soho, now one of nine. A star was born, as was a brand. 10 years later, as John Varvatos showed Fall/Winter 2010 in a de-consecrated church as part of Milan Fashion week, it was clear that the brand had grown into one of the world’s premier names in men’s fashion and was here to stay.
Over the past decade, the brand has grown on several fronts and each one has set John Varvatos apart from other designers. His collaboration with Converse in 2001, to produce a line of designer sneakers, broke boundaries, which is something Varvatos has always embraced. He took the heritage that Converse stood for, from the basketball roots of Chuck Taylor and Jack Purcell in the ‘20s and ’30 to the rock and roll era of the ‘50s, and brought it to the youth of the new millennium. This eventually led to the launch of a menswear line in 2006, Converse by John Varvatos. The line is a perfect compliment in its athletic appeal to the equally youthful but more dressed up John Varvatos USA line. The John Varvatos label continued to extend its reach with the introduction of scents, watches and eye wear—thus evolving the brand into a full lifestyle.
For most designers a lifestyle brand is about everything from the shirts to the shoes to the sheets. For John Varvatos it’s about living the life. There is an organic quality to everything he has done that necessitates success. John Varvatos came from humble beginnings in Detroit, Michigan, as the eldest son in a family of seven. Brought up in the rock ‘n’ roll capital of the country, music was his passion, his escape and eventually fueled his entree into fashion. As Varvatos very simply puts it, “I always wanted to look like a rock star” and it is this, amongst other things that makes Varvatos’ clothes distinct and strikes the chord that exists in every man. As he talks about his company’s growth he says, “Music and rock ‘n’ roll are a part of my life—morning, noon and night. The energy drives and inspires me”.
Outside of the clothes, this is perhaps most evident in Varvatos’ use of what was formerly the seminal underground music club CBGB’s, on New York’s Bowery, as concept clothing store. In April of 2008 at the store’s benefit launch party, Tom Morello, Slash, Jerry Cantrell, Perry Farrell, Joseph Arthur, Sen Dog from Cypress Hill , and Joan Jett were just a few of the names that played a charity concert to a packed house. Full of rock memorabilia and a new stage where bands continue to play, the store sells both John Varvatos’ clothing and his hand-picked vinyls and vintage audio equipment. In keeping the memory of CBGBs alive, John Varvatos has saved a slice of history and has fused music and design in a truly authentic way.
The Varvatos ad campaigns, launched in 2005, in collaboration with acclaimed music photographer Danny Clinch, have similarly embodied the spirit of the company. They have showcased superstars of the music industry from Slash to Franz Ferdinand and Alice Cooper. The ads are about paying tribute to the musicians that have inspired them, as much as they are about presenting the label. As John Varvatos prepares to celebrate their first decade of success, the man and the company are in tandem celebrating many decades of music.
10 years on, John Varvatos continues to live and breathe the essence of his brand. A great philanthropist, he has managed to motivate musicians, celebrities and friends to give by orchestrating an annual outdoor charity concert to benefit the Stuart House, a program of the Rape Treatment Center at the UCLA Medical Center. Many of the musicians that have been a part of his ad campaigns have performed at the annual benefit. The 7th annual benefit, which took place in March 2009, was hosted by Kevin Bacon and Kyra Sedgewick with a performance by ZZ Top. He also serves on the Board of the VH1 Save The Music Foundation and has dedicated activities around the 10 year anniversary ad campaign to benefit the New York based nonprofit who are dedicated to restoring instrumental music education in America’s public schools.
Varvatos’ non-philanthropic endeavors have been equally integral to the company. 2009 saw the launch of “Born in Detroit” a monthly show on Sirius XM Satellite Radio, hosted by John Varvatos, featuring music and interviews with the diehard artists that created rock ‘n’ roll. The inaugural show included a live performance by the New York Dolls. 2010 saw a surprise gig by Guns ‘N Roses’ Axl Rose at Varvatos’ fashion week bash, as well as the launch of JV’s Funhouse, a music centric blog providing an insider’s view into the designer’s personal trips to music events around the world.
From laceless Converse, to rock icons, to clothes with an attitude, John Varvatos has shown a penchant for a countercultural streak that is able to transcend generations. Success has followed success as John Varvatos has moved with changing times, most recently launching an eCommerce site that allows shoppers to shop looks straight off the runway. John Varvatos and the amazing team of people behind him clearly have a lot to look back on and celebrate as the company reaches its 10 year anniversary. And more importantly they have much to look forward to, as do we all, because the John Varvatos brand, just like the man’s personal heroes, is poised to be timeless.
Please CLICK THE LINK below to view and download John Varvatos’ 10yr Highlights:
https://backup.filesanywhere.com/fs/v.aspx?v=8969698b5f5f76b5719f
**For all other digital and print assets, i.e: portraits of John Varvatos, ad campaign images, concert and event photos, etc., please contact Courtney-Brooke at Courtney_johnson@vfc.com
Contacts
John Varvatos
Donna Faircloth
212.812.8008
Courtney-Brooke Johnson
212.812.8019
John Varvatos Boutique Locations:
John Varvatos, Soho John Varvatos, Bowery John Varvatos, East Hampton
122 Spring Street, NY 315 Bowery, NY 54 Newtown Lane, NY
212.965.0700 212.358.0315 631.324.4440
John Varvatos, Los Angeles John Varvatos, Malibu John Varvatos, The Forum Shops at Caesars
8800 Melrose Avenue, CA 3825 Cross Creek Road, CA 3500 Las Vegas Boulevard South, NV
310.859.2791 310. 317.8487 702.939.0922
John Varvatos, San Francisco John Varvatos, Costa Mesa John Varvatos, Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
152 Geary Street, CA 3333 Bristol Street, CA 4455 Paradise Road, NV
415.986.0138 14.545.5551 702.693.6370