John Varvatos

01 / The Detroit story

The Detroit story

Varvatos was born in Detroit and grew up in Allen Park, a Downriver suburb, in a Greek American family. Detroit's rock scene of the late 1960s and early 1970s, from the MC5 to Alice Cooper, shaped his taste, and the look of those bands would later run through his clothes. At 16 he took a job selling menswear at the Hughes & Hatcher store in nearby Dearborn, discovering a talent for fashion. He studied at Eastern Michigan University and the University of Michigan and, after graduating in 1980, co-founded a menswear shop in Grand Rapids. He then joined Polo Ralph Lauren and later Calvin Klein, where he led menswear design, before launching his own label in 2000. His brand became known for worn-in leather, vintage-feel tailoring and advertising campaigns starring rock musicians, and he won Council of Fashion Designers of America menswear awards. He has often cited Detroit as the root of his rock-and-roll sensibility.

Highlights

1. Grew up in Allen Park; first menswear job at Hughes & Hatcher in Dearborn
2. Studied at Eastern Michigan University and the University of Michigan
3. Worked for Polo Ralph Lauren and Calvin Klein
4. Launched the John Varvatos label (first collection 2000)
5. CFDA menswear designer honors