John Varvatos» John Varvatos: Men’s Designer Suits, Shoes, Bags, Belts, Cologne

High Voltage – London

John — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 16:32:45 +0000

The Festival: High Voltage

The Place: Victoria Park, London

The Line Up: UNBELIEVABLE

I hopped a last minute flight to London to check out the High Voltage Festival. Lucky for me I wasn’t alone…I bumped into a few old friends.

Yep, Jimi Page AND Billy Gibbons!

Dusty Gibbons – always the performer….while Jimi checks out Billy’s Gretsch Billy-Bo.

Black…it’s the new black. Me here with Tony Iommi and Glenn Hughes.

Geezer Butler, one bad ass mother fucker.

Ted Turner and Martin Turner – Wishbone Ash.

10 Year Anniversary Party!!

John — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 18:59:46 +0000

Mountain Jam, Hunter NY

John — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 17:46:42 +0000

Some friends and I headed to Mountain Jam in early June. It’s a three day outdoor music festival with some pretty cool bands. Check out some of my favorites….

Grace Potter….she sounds just as good as she looks!!

Derek Trucks (of the Allman Brothers) & Susan Tedeschi Band

Michael Franti & Spearhead and Jackie Greene (right)

One eskimO…..rockin’ some JV Chucks!!!

The Avett Brothers

Backstage….never underestimate a roadie!

All in all it was a great weekend….me, my friends, and live music. Life’s simple pleasures.

John Varvatos & Guitar World Rock 315 Bowery

John — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 15:59:54 +0000

July 1, 2010…the Thursday before a long holiday weekend. I could just sense the traffic of all the New Yorkers fleeing town for the Fourth. But, for a lucky couple of hundred people who stayed city-side, the weekend was kicked off with a true bang as we partnered with Guitar World Magazine, who is celebrating their 30th Anniversary, to throw down with two amazing bands.

After hearing Andrew Wotman wail out on his guitar, we knew we had to introduce him and his band to the Guitar World community. The rest, they say, his history….or at least, history in the making. This kid is unreal!

Next up was Pisser, an illusive NYC underground band that sprung from Honkey Toast. Each member kind of went their own way after the 90’s and since have rarely been seen. They seem to wait just long enough, when you start to think Pisser was just an illusion and that you must be confusing them with some other band…and then like magic..they appear. It was a huge honor to have the band perform last night with front man Eric J. Toast, bass player Anthony Esposito from Ace Frehley and Lynch Mob, Frank Ferrara on drums from Guns N’ Roses and special guest appearance by Ron “Bumblefoot” Thale, also a GNR member.

Milan Men’s Fashion Week Spring 2011

John — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 18:56:14 +0000

This marks the tenth year for John Varvatos and our 4th season showing in Milan. Although I’ve been in this industry for over 30 years, and been a part of countless shows…there is always the element of the unexpected…which by this time, I have come to expect. To prove the point even further, I landed in Malpensa airport to find out my luggage never made it on the plane……who ever said fashion was glamorous?

Check out the week’s transformation……..

After endless days of styling and tailoring…we’re ready to head to Chiesa sconsacrata di San Paolo Converso, where we have shown for the past 3 seasons.

The quiet before the storm….

In just under 15 minutes, months worth of work walk down the runway.

After 10 days in Milan, countless hours of styling, editing, meetings, interviews and a few dozen coffees, my luggage finally showed up. Who would have expected it?

Thursday Nite at 315 Bowery with Michael Monroe

John — Thu, 20 May 2010 19:19:03 +0000

Michael Monroe opened his set at 315 Bowery with Nothin’s Alright by the ultra hardcore fan favorite side project, Demolition 23. The rest of the set was peppered with Hanoi Rocks favorites like Motorvatin, Back To Mystery City, Boulevard of Broken Dreams and Malibu Beach. The crowd got to enjoy all the action of Monroe’s latest group, consisting of Sami Yaffa (Hanoi Rocks, NY Dolls) Ginger (The Wildhearts) and Steve Conte (NY Dolls).

Thursday Nite Live w/ Michael Monroe from John Varvatos on Vimeo.

Half way through the set, Michael cracked his head open on the overhead monitors and started bleeding. He didn’t seem to mind as he kept belting out the songs. Now if that ain’t Rock n’ Roll somebody please tell me what is?!!!!

The band even came back for a double encore of two of my favorites, Kick Out The Jams by The MC5 and Feel Alright by The Stooges. I’m just saying, you can take the guy out of Detroit, but you can’t take Detroit out of the guy!!

Iggy Pop & Patti Smith Perform at Carnegie Hall

John — Wed, 05 May 2010 16:44:59 +0000

My friend Stephen and I went to the the 20th Annual Benefit Concert for Tibet House US. Among the performers were Patti Smith and one of my all time favorites, Iggy Pop. Check it out……


20th Annual Benefit Concert for Tibet House US from John Varvatos on Vimeo.
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What I’m listening to now…..

John — Mon, 03 May 2010 18:53:15 +0000

Scott Morgan, Scott Morgan – Another gem from a true original. Scott makes Detroit proud.

Iggy and The Stooges, Raw Power – Down & dirty. Raw Power is “THE” seminal punk rock album of all time.

Jesse Malin & The St. Marks Social, Love it to Life – Jesse is one of the great American songwriters of our time. Love it to Life is his best album yet.

Peter Wolf, Midnight Souvenirs - The former J. Geils front man delivers another powerful album. Very cool, eclectic mix of songs.

Jimi Hendrix, Valleys of Neptune – The last studio recordings. It makes me miss Jimi even more.

Sweet Apple, Love and Desperation – J. Mascis from Dinosaur Jr.’s new group. Killer R ‘n R!!

The Beatles, In Mono – All 13 albums in glorious mono. The best sounding Beatles release ever.

Peter Frampton, Thank you Mr. Churchill - Peter’s back with a rockin’ set that leaves you wanting more.

BoDeans, Mr. Sad Clown – Milwalkie’s BoDeans deliver another great slice of Americana.

The Byrds, Untitled (Legacy Edition) – My favorite Byrds album. Expanded with additional live material. A must have.

A Gathering For My Friend, Jim Marshall

John — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 20:33:35 +0000

I had been in collaboration with two great photographers, Jim Marshall and Timothy White, who had just published a photography book called Match Prints. Over their twenty year friendship, Jim and Timothy discovered there were striking similarities in their work, despite the photographs being taken 30 years apart. We were set to kick off the Match Prints book tour at my Soho Store on Wednesday, March 24th, when Timothy called with news of Jim’s passing. As we were both trying to sort through all the emotions that come with losing someone unexpectedly, we didn’t know how to proceed with the evening’s event. Should we cancel? In the end, we decided to provide a place for people to see his iconic photos, hear friends speak of him and remember the history he captured and created.

Jim was a man of few words….Timothy explained, and most of them were “Fuck!” In his honor, the crowd gave the finger, mirroring Jim’s famous Johnny Cash photo.

We’ll miss you Jim. You left us too soon.

Jim Marshall, my friend

John — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 16:53:38 +0000

We lost one of our closest friends and a cultural icon today. I will miss Jim very much, but his images Will Not Fade Away.