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Photography: Danny Clinch
Good, old Gentleman’s Quarterly made the right call when they dubbed John Varvatos the “Designer of the Year”—the title fits him like one of his blazers. As the paisley-clad Simon Doonan of Barney’s notes in GQ’s panegyric on Varvatos, “John’s rustic outfits make guys look even more butch rather than less so.”
Indeed, Varvatos doesn’t design to please the refined palettes of editors and critics…
Guy Talk: Designers sound off on the possibility of a New York menswear-only fashion week. [Men.Style]
Radar Love: Is publisher Maer Roshan patronizing John Varvatos, or is Varvatos patronizing Roshan? [Gawker]
Off Off-Price: Ralph Lauren pulls clothes from discount retailers. [Trading Markets]
Hint Homme: Catching up with Hedi Slimane. [Mode et Utopie]
Cheap Wednesday: Dealfeed refers us to skinny denim discounts. [Racked]
Hardy Outlook: Brit line Hardy Amies ups its retail profile. [DNRNews]
Service with a Smile: Gridskipper reviews the rudest hip retailers in the city. We can’t really relate as we get good treatment everywhere we go—no, seriously. [Gridskipper]
Sex, drugs, rock & roll—they aren’t exactly hallmarks of mature sophistication, or at least not yet. But there’s no act so wild it can’t be cleaned up by a few well-placed changes. Case in point, Rock Ambassador/Designer John Varvatos’ Spring ‘08 Converse by John Varvatos ad campaign.
It seems that Danny Clinch, the man who managed to make even Alice Cooper look dapper, has handed over the lens to hipstographer Ryan McGinley in the Get Chucked campaign. We’d gladly spend the day browsing McGinley’s portfolio of gloriously happy nudes engaging in normal daily activities (yes, even communal bathing), so we’re excited about the direction he’ll take the ads, especially since they’ll actually revolve around clothing.
Everyone loves a challenge.
It turns out we were a little overzealous welcoming Ryan McGinley to the Varvatos fold. McGinley’s still onboard for the Get Chucked campaign, but Varvatos favorite Danny Clinch isn’t going anywhere.
If we missed Clinch in the Varvatos tent, it’s probably because he was busy shooting these spots with Cheap Trick for the John Varvatos Collection, which hit newsstands in a few weeks. And if we may say so, the loose cap/tux combination has never looked so dashing.
Sorry, Danny and John. We want you to want us.
As we head towards the top (or bottom) of our list, sportswear slowly falls away and the cream rises.
4. Tie — Gilded Age and John Varvatos:
Two more different collections would be hard to find. For the Kempt man, however, Gilded Age and John Varvatos represent a perfect balance of casual and formal. Yes, Gilded Age (pictured) upped the ante this year with a new capsule line of fine, history-inspired wool suits and bowler hats. Still, the best things here stressed comfort and ease—hearty outdoor ware for more active hours. Varvatos, on the other hand, has pushed himself closer to European territory. His shimmering gray collection lies closer to the boundaries of fashion than almost any of his previous work (perhaps toiling for Converse has compelled him to whip up these chancy new lapels and such.) It’s heady stuff, but just as slick and masculine as ever. Grab a little from each of these lines, and you’re set till 2010. [links above]
Negative Reaction: Kenneth Cole falls $3.1 million into debt. Where be your cheeky billboards now? [DNRNews]
Cardigan Cabal: The international press is conspiring to make the Cardigan today’s, “dead sexy chick magnet.” Almost Orwellian, ain’t it?
Restoration Hardware: John Varvatos’ conversion of CBGB’s is taking for-frigging-ever. [Racked]
Lil’ Bit More: Crunk poet and Renaissance man Lil’ John not only has his own celeb clothing line on the way, but is currently vintnering up a storm at Little Jonathan Winery. All class that one. [Pro Hip Hop]
Collateral Damage: The new Bond film is an absolute blood fest, destroying one innocent Tom Ford suit after another. [VogueUK]
Co-Ed Naked Design: Matthew McConcaughey and his old lady create new clothes to shed while walking on sunny pacific beaches. [Gawker]
We’ve been fans of John Varvatos for some time, but his takeover of the old CBGBs space looks to be yet another feather in his cap, renovating the space with a lot of respect for the venue’s storied past. It’s not his fault the previous owners lost their lease, but he’s managed to keep a lot of the old spirit alive.
Here’s a few pictures we managed to snag, courtesy of our friends at UrbanDaddy.
For Whom The Bell Tolls: Kristen Bell twice in one week? What? You got a problem with that? [FHM]
Den and Geller: Kempt fave Robert Geller opens at Odin’s satellite store. [Men.Style]
Can I Turn it Up for You?: Always classy that Dov Charney. [AnimalNY]
Pay it Forward: Got an extra, unused suit? Pass it on. [EarthTimes]
Get Ready to D.A.N.C.E.: Justice’s new clothing line is just as hip and French as you might expect. [Stereogum]
Deal Alert: Yoko Devereaux springwear starting tomorrow. [Racked]
COS Play: Monocle takes a hard look at H+M’s new branch line and the takes the temperature of European retail. [Monocle]
Rock and Roll Will Never Die: Except when it does. Hey, maybe you kids should have been out there protesting, say, three years ago. [Gothamist]
Where’s Waris?: You ask. We’ve already delivered. [A Continuous Lean]
The Man Who Would Be King: P Diddy’s fashion week documentary about his quest for LOVE! INSPIRATION! and REBELLION! and style’s CROWN! was so MIND-CRUSHINGLY AWESOME! that we couldn’t watch more than 12 seconds of it. [NYMag]
Foxy Boxing: Adriana Lima, Doutzen Kroes and, sigh, Karolina Kurkova have been practicing the sweet science at a local gym. We kind of like the fact that they could beat the snot out of us. [Observer]
“Women Love You in Pink Shirts”: We have personal, experiential evidence that this is true. [Just a Guy Thing]
Barney and Friends: The appearences of Michel Gondry, Timo and Panama-hat wearing ping-pong champs at Matthew Barney’s National Arts Club dinner add up to the first party report that actually made us jealous. [VF Daily]
One Step at a Time: Just like everything else there, shoemaking in Iraq is a study in tragedy and persistence. [IHT]
Neighborhood Watch: How could we have missed this one? Not only has our beloved Style Guy returned from the front with a new report on CBGB’s, but he also waxes nostalgic (in his own unsentimental way) about causing a minor riot with his “socialist-realist rock band.” Awesome. [GQ]
Acne Treatment: What? You still haven’t hit Acne? [Paper]
Funny Money: In these penny-pinching times, who couldn’t use a little more levity in their wallet? [Refinery29]
The Family Business: Father-and-son art aficionados bond over checks and English cuts. [NYMag]
Brooklyn Boys: Racked takes the F over to Boerum Hill’s new And Then Some. [Racked]
Drip Dry: Forget the cleaners. A new Japanese suit is designed for cleaning in the shower. Loofa anyone? [Theindian]
The Great Rock and Roll Swindle: Legendary venue goes from club to store, back to club and then right back to store again. Protestors still desperately searching for lives. [Vanityfair.com]
Sky King: Per usual, Prince William makes us commoners look like chumps. [Daily Mail]
Hail Married: Eli Manning wraps up his improbable championship season by beating both brother Peyton and arch-rival Tom Brady to the alter. [UPI]
Belly Up to the Bar: Thank Бог someone out there is poking around Russian Elle for Bar Refaeli shots. [Goldenfiddle]
Casual Friday: We’re a little surprised that this internal memo from Interview on office dress code was even necessary. We could guess that this has something to do with the magazine’s new Capo di tutti capi, Glenn O’Brien—but then again, the guy doesn’t always hew to the rule himself. [Gawker]
Spice on Set: Failing fashion designer Victoria Beckham teams up with failing movie mogul Tom Cruise for what will almost certainly be Ben Stiller’s ugliest film since “Meet the Fockers”. [FemaleFirst UK]
Bowery Boy: Does John Varvatos even have time to design anymore with all these CBGBs questions? [NYTimes]
Cheap Shots: The best suits under $500 photographed by Scott “The Sartorialist” Schuman. [Men.Style]
Word Games: Watch as three out of four panelists stuff their feet straight into their mouths while attempting to define “Hipster.” [PSFK]
Shwing!: Tom Ford wants you to appreciate the human dingle as much as he does. [NYMag]
We don’t do this for just anyone, but our buddy John is having a shindig, and we thought we’d spread the love.
Hot Ash: The best can into which to put your cigar. [Uncrate]
Berlin Boys: A look at the Spring/Summer collection from Germany’s QED. [Skeleton Legs]
Cannes Do: The history of men’s fashion at the festival by the Côte d’Azur. [Men.Style]
Deal Alert: The Underground NYC sale has John Varvatos at 70% off all week (but get there early). [NYMag]
Varvatos in San Francisco: Meanwhile, on the other coast, Johnny opens up new digs in Fog City’s Union Square. [DNRNews]
Photographed by our fearless lensman, Patrick McMullan.
The information that downtown dude John Varvatos had opened a boutique in uptown East Hampton somehow passed us by, but then we spend more time upstate than on the East End these days—for reasons which should be obvious enough if you’ve ever been bumper-to-bumper on the Montauk Highway.
In any case, the designer who recently revamped CBGBs celebrated the first anniversary of his Hamptons outpost the other night with an exhibition of photos by the legendary Mick Rock, famous for his iconic shots of the likes of Iggy, Bowie, and Syd Barrett.
The New York Observer recently went batshit over gladiator sandals, oddly devoting the entire cover to a story entitled Ben-Her.
Cited as examples of the hot women warriors sporting the style this summer were Sarah Jessica Parker, Ashley Olson and Cynthia Rowley. However, we think mouthwatering model Erin Wasson wore them best by far, at the after-party for the CFDA Awards the other night—wore one, that is, accessorized with a matching pair of glossy black crutches.
Jennifer Livingston for DetailsThe globe-trotters over at Details just put up a few backstage snaps from the Fall ’08 shows in Milan and Paris, and we were a little surprised at how many up-collar leather jackets and tough fabrics there were. From Calvin Klein’s woven take on the biker jacket to Louis Vuitton’s helmeted models, motorcycle fashion seemed to be the order of the season.
No Irons Required: Structured Garment’s wrinkly spring collection. [A Continuous Lean]
Up Chuck: A look ahead at Converse by John Varvatos’ fall collection. [The Pipeline]
Cool As Ice: Metrosexual hockey bruiser has a special way of saying, “I like you.” Very special. [Gawker]
The Averyator 5000: This interview with Avery ain’t real, but it’s all true. Don’t cockblock the dream, bro! [Rangerland]
Final Period: And on that note, Hurricane Avery bids a fond “peace the f*ck out” to New York. [Newsday]
The Encyclopedia Douchettica: We don’t have to miss Avery that much, as long as we pick up Hot Girls With Douchebags.[Radar ]
Rubberized Chucks: John Varvatos has gone rainboot on us with his newest Converse. [Refinery 29]
Frat Boy Crushed: Tucker Max, infamous misogamist and blogger, somehow lands movie deal; critics have proceeded to trash the script and the man. [Gawker]
Bespoke Brogues: These understated leather classics will leave you wondering why you didn’t know about them earlier in the summer. [A Suitable Wardrobe]
Ballin’ Status: Young USA basketballers may have gotten into some scandalous massage-related trouble. Looks like Kobe may be buying another huge diamond ring. [NY Mag]
Estex Bags: This old saddle maker has transferred its prowess as a producer of fine goods into canvas bags. [A Continuous Lean]
You don’t hear much about biker culture as an influence on modern day designers, partly because the references are hard to name. John Varvatos usually gets a few references to The Wild One, but that’s like tracking British suiting back to James Bond. The look had to come from somewhere…
Rin Tanaka’s Harley-Davidson Book of Fashions gives a pretty good explanation of where. Covering the 1910-1950, Tanaka tracks the evolution of the bike from a useful novelty to a badge of outsider status, along with 40 years worth of bike helmets, any one of which would be enough to get a fledgling designer noticed.
With gas prices showing no signs of slowing, we may be on the cusp of a scooter renaissance, so the book couldn’t have come at a better time. It may not have our favorite biker jacket, but it’s got more inspiration than anything we’ve seen on the racks lately.
