John Varvatos: papa don’t preach

At the opening of Varvatos’ boutique space in Holt Renfrew, we chatted with the celebrated American designer about function in military wear, collaborating with Converse and how much he digs The Stills.

How does the function of the garment influence your work?
There is a little bit of a military influence in everything that we do.

If you are a student of fashion and military wear, you’ll know it’s all about function. Function is becoming very important, in silhouette, details and fabric.

We do a lot of our own fabric development; we take old-world looking fabrics and modernize them.

Your collaboration with Converse makes a lot of sense. How did you approach the heritage of the brand?
With a lot of respect. You know, I grew up wearing Converse. I’ve always had Converse in my closet, and I introduced my son to the brand.

He was around 15 when we started the collaboration with the brand, and he told me: «Don’t fuck it up.» Even to him, Converse is a religion.

I spent a lot of time looking at the history of Converse, both the athletic side and the urban side.

They came to me and they felt that there was a lot of heritage and respect for the past in my own collections.

You’ve opened a boutique in the old CBGB venue in New York City. How’s that going?
Very well. We’re doing live concerts at least once a month. We have a series called Thursday Night Live.

People like The Stills and the New York Dolls played there. It’s one of the most exciting things I’ve done in my career.

I’m trying to respect the music vibe and the soul of CBGB; we support a lot of upcoming bands. I’m inspired by that store.

I guess you’re a fan of The Stills.
I love them. I’ve been a big fan since their first album.

The first time I heard them was in 2003, 2004. The Stills have a real soul.

When we deal with musicians, we try to deal with musicians who are iconic.

John Varvatos
chez Holt Renfrew

1300, Sherbrooke O.

holtrenfrew.com