John Varvatos doesn’t speak the zshush-ese of “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy.” Nor does he think everything west of New Jersey is rural.
Midwest-bred, this designer earned a degree in the sciences at Eastern Michigan University and worked as a regional sales manager for Ralph Lauren in Chicago before he moved to New York and started somewhat sheepishly attending classes at the Fashion Institute of Technology, at around age 30.
Those points help explain why, though his company is only 4 years old, his is one of the few designer names known even to straight and stylish guys (not mutually exclusive terms)–and not just the Brad Pitts among them.
It might also explain why Varvatos is negotiating for space to open a freestanding shop on Oak Street for next fall, not only for his menswear but also the new women’s line that launched this fall.
He’ll be at Marshall Field’s in Chicago to show both Thursday.
Q. Lately, your name is among the first to roll off the tongues of men’s style experts here. How do Chicago men fit into your market?
A. Really, 100 percent. Growing up in the Midwest and spending half of my life there, there’s definitely more of a reality factor in people and the way you approach life.
There’s a little bit of humility in the way we approach the design and try to be special but at the same time not in your face.
Q. But the big news is women. Why did you add a women’s line for fall?
A. I started my career in women’s designing and I always loved it; there’s so much more freedom. In men’s if you did the pants cropped, who’s going to wear them? Guys don’t change, girls want change.
If we do things right [women’s] could be bigger than men’s, but you don’t know. Ralph Lauren’s men’s business still dwarfs his women’s. It’s one of the few like that.
Q. Is anything changing with men? The whole metrosexual theory?
A. Metrosexual, I love that name, it’s ridiculous. But the way men shop and the way they care about how they look on a daily basis has been changing rapidly in the last five years. So being able to be more aggressive with guys and feeling like they’ll move quicker, yes, somewhat.
It’s something we’ve been preaching since we started, but guys are opening up to being a little more eclectic with their outfits and not being so uniformish. We’re not known for big splashes of color, but we do use pops from time to time. This season there’s more color out there for guys.
Q. Is it simpler or more complicated than a lot of us think for men to dress well?
A. A great-fitting dark suit, with a great simple white shirt, you can never go wrong. A must in a guy’s life is a great-fitting pair of jeans. As the jeans business changes, men are getting much more particular about the way jeans fit them. That’s something the women’s market has been much more particular about. Men’s used to be much more generic.
Q. What are your favorite pieces in the women’s collection?
A. We have some beautiful coats that have a fox collar. I just talked to our Las Vegas store and they sold out of them in the first weekend. We also have some tall suede boots in great colors. There’s a suede skirt that you can open on the side that’s been blowing out in the first few days that product’s been out.
Q. You also have a new signature fragrance. Why are fragrances so important to building a brand?
A. They’re important because they have a longevity to them. The instant answer is marketing.
Q. What got you into design?
A. I spoke at a high school graduation a couple of months ago. So many kids go to college and are expected to know what they want to do. It wasn’t until I was probably around 30 years old. I had been on a different path. [Fashion] was just something I fell in love with when I moved to New York. Ralph [Lauren] was the one who kind of got me into it by pulling me into the world of it. I can’t imagine ever doing anything else now.
