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The designer favoured by rock’s biggest stars is responsible for our commentator’s - Jefferson Hack - hot new trainers. Plus jewellery with a conscience and Farris Bawan’s bookmarks…
John Varvatos
I have appeared on stage for a rock 'n' roll gig only once in my life.
I was watching a bare-chested Iggy Pop throw his microphone stand around like a rag doll at the London Astoria. He ran from one side of the stage to the other, a fury of energy and excitement. He was not shy of 50 years old. As he lashed the air with the microphone, the band launched into their anthem, Raw Power.
Iggy invited the audience to climb up and join in the encore. From the back of the auditorium, I charged the stage. I was lifted on to the crowd and surfed the many hands to the front. My Converse trainers were ripped from my feet. I was launched over the barriers to find myself on stage alongside other transfixed fans. I jumped on Iggy's back. He carried me like a Sherpa.
As the song closed, we both collapsed. I was whisked stage-right by a bouncer, dripping in sweat. It was all good rock 'n' roll fun, until I had to walk home barefoot through Oxford Street and beyond in the cold, mid-winter rain.
Iggy Pop and the Stooges come from Detroit, the motor city of America. It is an industrial hub that has been the home of some of the most enduring and anthemic bands in rock 'n' roll history, from Bill Haley and the Comets to the White Stripes.
One of America's most influential menswear designers, John Varvatos, who launched his label in 2000, also hails from Detroit. Last year he convinced Iggy Pop to wear a pin-stripe suit and pose for him in Central Park. More recently, he has lured Velvet Revolver, Slash from Guns N' Roses, Ryan Adams and now Detroit's zaniest rock 'n' roll showman, Alice Cooper, to wear and advertise his clothing. "Everything I'm wearing is John Varvatos now," said Alice Cooper backstage at the New York show earlier this month.
How did Varvatos, a former head of design at Ralph Lauren, break away from designing for CEOs and playboys and reinvent himself as the rock stars' preferred tailor? "When I was at Ralph," he says, "I'd always put a rock 'n' roll edge to things I wore. Now that I am doing my own label, I can make it an extension of my personality – it's a man's brand and it stands out for that."
Varvatos's clothes are understated. Subtle ageing, washing and dyeing techniques give them a slightly worn, causal feel. Attention is paid to detailing and hidden subtleties such as intricate stitching and fine linings. Beautiful fabrics – super-light cashmere for sweaters and crinkled cotton plaid for shirts – make his pieces interesting to men who like quality without statement dressing.
The tuxedo worn by Alice Cooper and the suit worn by Iggy Pop are semi-formal evening pieces, but most of his collection is far more bohemian. It is aimed at men who want to be fashionable but don't want to admit it.
"I am not trying to change the world with fashion," says Varvatos, "I just want to have a great time with it and give men some great clothes to wear every day."
I have been wearing John Varvatos for Converse trainers nearly every day for the past month. They are part of a new collaborative line he has produced with the lifestyle brand. They are over-dyed in thick white paint and I love them. I may have lost one pair of shoes in the heady pursuit of rock 'n' roll, but now the rock 'n' roll tailor has brought them back to me.
Farris Badwan
Men's fashion has fed on youth style tribes and sub-culture since the invention of rock 'n' roll.
Wearing slim-fitting trousers, a military jacket and a mop haircut may sound like Beatlemania, but douse it all in monochrome and a bit of eyeliner and you have this generation's answer back: Horrormania. Today's neophyte rock upstarts have started a teen revolution, and wearing black is where it's at.
These are the top internet sites for killing time on the tour bus, according to Farris Badwan, lead singer of The Horrors rock band:
Fantasy.premierleague.com The best fantasy football game.
Chachacharming.com Loads of info on 1960s girl-groups.
Netsounds.com/gemm.com Great for finding rare records.
House of Waris A shark tooth cast in gold with diamond settings as a necklace. A cartoon skull in black enamel set in gold as a cufflink. These are just a couple of the handmade pieces of jewellery for men by House of Waris.
Indian-born Waris Ahluwalia balances his time between acting and making jewellery. His East-meets-West outlook is fused in the detailing and manufacture of his sought-after collection. "I create in the lands of ancient kingdoms, surrounded by the beauty of history," he says of his recent travels to Rome and Rajasthan.
To celebrate his role in Wes Anderson's new film, The Darjeeling Limited, Waris has created an elephant-outline pin, which he wore in the movie. Proceeds of the pin will be donated to protecting Asian elephants from extinction. To find out more visit
www.yoox.com.
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