He’s a fashion designer who likes his dress shirts untucked and collar open. He doesn’t pepper his conversation with meaningless jargon or exclamation points. But when this 25-year design veteran for Calvin Klein and Ralph Lauren decided to strike out on his own, everyone in the industry sat up and took note. In little more than a year, the suburban Detroit native (a sister is a Tribune employee) has won two awards from the esteemed Council of Fashion Designers of America and has helped put the polish back in menswear. Meet John Varvatos.
Q-How would you describe the current state of menswear?
A-Menswear never goes through revolutions, but I believe that in the last few years, we’ve seen the biggest evolution in the history of menswear. It’s not only about the casualization. It’s about men’s lives-how they work, how they travel, how they live and how globalization has affected all aspects of our lives. It’s no longer about the European look vs. the American look. Fashion has become more global. There are more fashion-oriented guys who want to move with the latest trends, but the average guy is having a harder time.
Q-Do you think most men are confused?
A-Yes. There needs to be an education process for those who want to put it all together but have failed miserably. I recently read that some of the big investment houses are going back to suits only because they got tired of seeing their employers walk in in a bad golf shirt and Dockers.
Q-How do you propose helping them move with their times?
A-Our concept is casual elegance. We offer pieces that allow you be very dressed up if you want to be, but there’s also a way to put it together to feel relaxed but sophisticated. We’re trying to zero in on the guy who maybe doesn’t have to wear a tie every day but who also likes to look pulled together. Without being Garanimals, we do this look where everything kind of connects but doesn’t look so coordinated. We show pieces in a variety of combinations and in that way we present it more like women’s separates. We hang a jacket next to a shirt and a knit and some pants. We even have separates in our suiting and have broken down the barrier of dress shirts. We hang a lot of them open-collar style either under a jacket or with a pair of jeans to help guys change their thinking in terms of how to dress.
Q-How are customers responding?
A- We see in our New York store that guys are getting turned on about multiple-use wardrobes. They like buying a serious suit but having the ability to change their look within the week, and it all comes back to flexibility and versatility in lifestyle.
Q-What items are you talking about specifically?
A-A great tailored jacket with a pair of jeans and a T-shirt, a cotton jacket worn with a knit shirt. I use lots of worsted fabrics because they make a great non-blazer blazer. Mix it with linen and cotton pants or jeans and it becomes about the different textures. There’s a way of dressing where your clothes don’t have to look like mishmash or like you’ve studied it too long.
Q-You play around with a lot of classic men’s looks, from pinstripes to prep school uniforms to military jackets. Do you think men change their style much as they get older?
A-Not really. I’m always thinking about the way I used to dress when I was younger. Men in general are comfortable with styles that are classically based. That doesn’t mean they necessarily want to look traditional. One of my first big reviews said that my line is classically based but with intricate details and interesting twists. And to me that’s the best place to be, because we attract both the classic customer and the fashion customer.
Q-When you’re sketching, whom are you thinking about?
A-We tend to think about someone in the entertainment business or an architect or some creative type. The reality is that those men are only my inspiration. My real customer is the kind of guy who thinks a little outside of the box. It’s more about a mentality than an age or demographic group. It could be the Wall Street man who has been wearing Zegna or Armani his whole life and likes wearing my clothes on weekends because they make him look good. We address his needs too.
Q-I guess that’s one of the reasons you were selected to design the suits for Dylan McDermott on “The Practice.” What other celebrities are you working with?
A-Eric McCormack from “Will & Grace” wears my clothes, but it’s really for his personal wardrobe. We’ve done the last two films with Tom Cruise, including “Vanilla Sky” and his next one. We designed the tuxedo Robert de Niro wore to the Oscar parties this year. We also work with some pop stars like Ricky Martin. He picked out a suede top with leather pants.
Q-I heard you have teenage kids. Are they an influence?
A-Sure, because they [a 17-year-old son and a 15-year-old daughter] live in a different world and it makes me think a lot about where we’re headed as a society. They’re very tapped into pop culture, and music is still a big part of my life. My son wears lots of rock ‘n’ roll T-shirts and jeans with black leather jackets and Converse high-tops. He looks like he’s in the Ramones. We’re doing this jeans line for next fall and the whole thought process of it, the purity of it comes from him.
