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John Varvatos | |
|---|---|
 John Varvatos (2006) | |
| Born | (1954-08-08)August 8, 1954 (age 71) Detroit, Michigan, US |
| Education | Eastern Michigan University |
| Labels | |
| Awards | Perry Ellis Award for Menswear, 2000;CFDA: Menswear Designer of the Year, 2001 and 2005;GQ: Designer of the Year, 2007 |
John Varvatos (born 1954) is an American menswear designer.[2][3][4] He has worked for bothRalph Lauren andCalvin Klein, and startedhis own label in 1999.
The Varvatos family is originally from the village ofPoulata on the island ofKefalonia, Greece. Varvatos was born inDetroit and grew up inAllen Park, Michigan.[5]
He attendedAllen Park High School. At the age of 16, he got a job selling menswear at the Hughes & Hatcher store in nearbyDearborn.[6]
He attendedEastern Michigan University and theUniversity of Michigan.[7]
After graduating in 1980, he co-founded a menswear store,Fitzgerald's Men's Store, inGrand Rapids, Michigan.[8]
Varvatos joinedPolo Ralph Lauren in 1983. He then moved on toCalvin Klein in 1990 where he was appointed head of menswear design and oversaw the launch of the men's collection and the cK brand. During his time at Calvin Klein, Varvatos pioneered a type of men'sundergarment calledboxer briefs, a hybrid ofboxer shorts andbriefs.[9] Made famous by a series of 1992 print ads featuringMark Wahlberg,[9][10] they have been called "one of the greatest apparel revolutions of the century."[9] Of their creation Varvatos said in 2010, "We just cut off a pair of long johns and thought, this could be cool ...".[9]
In 1995, Varvatos returned to Ralph Lauren as head of menswear design for all Polo Ralph Lauren brands and created the Polo Jeans Company.[11]
In late 1999, Varvatos startedhis company, debuting his first clothing line at the end of 2000 in New York. The brand now includes belts, handbags, footwear, eyewear, watches and fragrances.
In September 2000, within months of showing his first collection, Varvatos opened a freestanding boutique inSoHo. The collection is currently distributed in John Varvatos boutiques including the 315 Bowery boutique in the space that formerly housed the underground music clubCBGB.
2009 saw the launch ofNew York Nights…Direct From the Bowery, a monthly radio show hosted by Varvatos onSirius XM's The Spectrum channel. The show includes songs and interviews from various artists who have influenced Varvatos throughout his career in fashion.[12]
In 2012, Varvatos joined the cast of celebrity mentors onNBC'sFashion Star, a reality competition series that searched for the next big brand in fashion.[13] In 2013, he saw the release of a limited editionChrysler 300 in his name. In 2014, he partnered with Monte Lipman's Republic label to launch John Varvatos Records, initially signing theZac Brown Band.[14]
Varvatos credits his early obsession withrock 'n' roll as the catalyst for his interest infashion. The ad campaigns for the main collection, shot byDanny Clinch, have featured such musicians and bands such asIggy Pop,Alice Cooper,Velvet Revolver,Chris Cornell,Dave Matthews,The Roots, andGreen Day.[citation needed]
The John Varvatos company filed forChapter 11 bankruptcy in May of 2020.[15] In 2021 Varvatos foundedOTD.
In September of 2023, Varvatos was appointed Chief Design Officer ofUnder Armour, a publicly traded US performance apparel company founded byKevin Plank.[16]
In 2001, Varvatos andConverse formed a partnership and Varvatos was licensed to create a line of high end sneakers,[17] John Varvatos' sneakers were usually produced in the style of High TopChuck Taylor All-Stars.[citation needed] The partnership has since ended, and Varvatos now produces a "Bootleg" line in a similar Chuck Taylor style.
