We’re stretching out summer – and being pretty blatant about it – by asking music-fuelled designers to spill their current stereo sequences. First up is John Varvatos, who wears his passion for classic rock on his sleeve, talking us through his ultimate five and topping up with a star spangled workout, heavy on the ‘tude.

Purple Haze by Jimi Hendrix
“I was quite young when I heard that song. It was like an electrical storm from outer space. I had never heard anything like that. It was the first psychedelic song that I really connected with.”

What’s Going On? by Marvin Gaye
“It is a song that I always have had an affinity for. It was a protest song about the war and there weren’t a lot of black artists who did protest songs. That was kind of a hippie thing. So it was interesting to see Marvin Gaye stepping out and doing a protest album. The song is as relevant today as it was in 1971.”

Smells Like Teen Spirit by Nirvana
“This song really ushered in the 1990s. After bad 1980s music, all of a sudden there was this hurricane that blew through, and it was Nirvana that changed the playing field and woke people up after the hair bands and power ballads.”

Sweet Emotion by Aerosmith
“It’s just one of those songs that from the first time I heard it on the radio, probably in 1975, I connected with it. I heard it on the radio this weekend, too. It transcends time. It doesn’t feel like a song from the 1970s.”

Spoonful by Howlin’ Wolf
“When I was in my teens I discovered Led Zeppelin, The Who, Cream, and bands like that. The roots of that music really came from the Chicago blues, and the British were the ones who brought it into the rock arena. I was listening to this song from Cream, looking at the label on the record, and I saw that it wasn’t written by Cream, but it was written by Willie Dixon, who wrote for a lot of other blues players as well. It got me sucked into discovering blues music.”

Shake Appeal by The Stooges
Foot Stompin’ Music by Grand Funk Railroad
Long Way to Go by Alice Cooper
Devil With The Blue Dress by Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels
Ramblin’ Gamblin’ Man by The Bob Seger System
Kick Out The Jams by MC5
Journey to the Center of Your Mind by The Amboy Dukes
Slippin’ Around by The Detroit Cobras
Chains of Love by The Dirt Bombs
C’mon C’mon by The Von Bondies
96 Teardrops by Question Mark and the Mysterians
I Think I’ve Had It by The Gories
48 Crash by Suzi Quatro
Do The Pop by Radio Birdman

Check out Romain Kremer and Italo Zucchelli‘s summer playlists