Rocking in Style: For John Varvatos, Music is His Muse

John Varvatos could tell you a thing or two about rock and roll but he’d rather show you a picture. Or two, or three.

The multi-award winning designer’s love of music began in Detroit, where he grew up immersed in the legendary Motown Sound, and later, punk rock with such acts as MC5 and the Stooges.

Varvatos palpably radiates a near-feverish passion for music, and its influence is far more than skin-deep in its influence on the clothes he designs for his label.

Launched in 2000, Varvatos’ eponymous brand has consistently garnered raves for his edgy men’s style that indeed, could easily be sported by many of rock’s greats – and is.  His love of music history extends to the location of the brand’s Bowery boutique, which is housed in what was once the iconic New York club, CBGB’s.

So perhaps it is no surprise that his new book, John Varvatos: Rock in Fashion (Harper Design, $60.00), offers a very personal collection of photographs that have undoubtedly influenced his own style of polished rebellion. Peppered with Varvatos’ s personal commentary, the book is a photographic journey through the history of rock and roll, and the artists who invented their own rebel style.

BERTRAND PELLEGRIN: Your book really confirms that Rock and Roll’s influence on fashion couldn’t have happened without the media and photography. Do you think we’d even have the concept of “rock and roll style” if it weren’t for photojournalism?

JOHN VARVATOS: That’s a big question, but I don’t think we would. I mean a lot of these photographers didn’t really know what they were capturing in terms of fashion; they were capturing this kind of rebellion that was going on. I guess the pictures I chose for this book were ones that were significant on many levels, in terms of the artists, their music and their style. Each picture is really one that influenced me personally and I think you can probably see fragments of them throughout my collections.

BP: So what was the first picture you remember that influenced you, was it a magazine on a newsstand, an album picture?

JV: It was a picture of The Stooges from their Funhouse album. That picture instantly made me want to be Iggy, with his torn jeans, and Ron Asheton, lying there with that amazing leather racing jacket.  I was only 12 years old and I just I became obsessed with that jacket. I even wanted the same rug they were lying on.

The Stooges, in a photograph by Ed Caraeff for their 1970 album, The Funhouse. “I was only 12 years old but I just became obsessed with that jacket.”

BP: What do you think it is that defines the intersection of fashion and rock — How do they come together and do you think it’s still as organic as it was with classic rock artists?

JV: I think there’s an incestuous relationship between fashion and music, but back then it was maybe less contrived, I mean, there were no stylists the way there are now. The clothes weren’t necessary to express the music, but they helped assert that attitude of rebellion, of breaking rules.

BP: A lot of rules — including gender and sexuality, don’t you think?

JV: That’s right, and I’m not sure I was influenced necessarily by say, the New York Dolls or some of Iggy Pop’s looks but the attitude definitely made an impression on me.

David Bowie, Iggy Pop, and Lou Reed, in a 1972 photo by Mick Rock.

BP: It reminds me of a great quote by Freddie Mercury where he says, I’m not just giving you a concert, it’s a fashion show – and this is the 70’s. It’s like he already knew what was going on.

JV: And he did put on a fashion show, didn’t he? But he was still totally anarchic and his fashion just elevated how we experienced the great music that Queen did.

BP: When you left Ralph Lauren to start your own brand, did you say: right, this is going to be about rebel style?

JV: No, but yeah, people asked me, are you going to be like Calvin – because I had been at Calvin Klein as well – or will you be like Ralph?  I said No it’s going to me.  I didn’t think I was a rebel, I just felt it was time for me to express my own aesthetic and yeah, I guess rock and music is a big part of what I’m about.

Lou Reed in a 1974 portrait by Mick Rock. “He pounded his fist on the table and he was like, ‘It’s not about pop! It’s about rock and roll!’ ”

BP: You have some great pictures of Lou Reed in your book… how did his passing impact you?

JV: We had an event at the Bowery Store — which used to be CBGB’s — and there were like 500 people there. Lou was on stage answering questions and at one point he just got very intense, banging his fist on the table, and he was like: “It’s not about pop! It’s about rock and roll, rock is the only thing that matters!” He wasn’t in good health but at that moment, all of the energy in his body came forward and the crowd kind of energized him and felt his passion. I think none of us will ever forget that. Two weeks later I got the call that he passed and I suddenly realized just how much he influenced me, and a lot of people in music.

BP: You talk a lot about that rock and roll “swagger,” and that comes through with a lot of the pictures in your book. Do you think that this is some of the appeal of your brand — that you give men, even ordinary men, a confidence?

JV: Well I mean let’s face it: every guy wants to be a rock star, right? Everyone wants to have that swagger. I don’t think everything I have is for the regular guy but I do think there are pieces that give them, yeah, some confidence, some cool. I don’t sit there and design clothes directly inspired by these photos, but I do try to keep that element of cool that rock fashion has.

Johnny Thunders and David Johansen from the New York Dolls, in a 1973 photograph by Bob Gruen. “Even the New York Dolls were making a statement with their women’s clothing. They made it rebellious, even masculine.”

BP: So you could say fashion serves as rock’s bravado — that confidence to express yourself?

JV: Yeah, I like that, “bravado.” I guess that is what it is. I think the pictures you see in my book are of people who are totally comfortable in their own skin, and who created a look that is uniquely their own. Jimmy Page did it. Hendrix. Iggy and the Stooges. Even Bob Dylan. Even the New York Dolls were making a statement with their women’s clothing. They made it rebellious, even masculine. Their style gave a sharper focus to the music they played.

All photographs are used by permission and are included in the book, John Varvatos: Rock in Fashion (Harper Design/HarperCollins, $60.00).

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