Top image: Backstage at John Varvatos FW15. Photo courtesy John Varvatos

Lewis Firth: You’ve had a seven-year stint in Milan, what appeals most about moving the shows to NYC?
John Varvatos: Well, I started in New York. I’m a New York designer. Doing it on your home-turf is always fun. It’s been great in Milan, but this is the first time they’ve started a wholly dedicated event to menswear in New York – previously, they always had it during the women’s shows. Women’s shows are a lot later than the men’s shows, which have been showing in the last couple of weeks, so by then, the season’s totally over, you know? It’s really exciting.

“Since I started my company nearly 15 years ago, there have been drastic changes to the way men interact with fashion. Men were never interested before, now they really care about what’s in their wardrobes and how they put themselves together in the morning.”

LF: Do you think the event has been made in light of men’s increasingly active involvement with fashion and style?
JV: I think there are a couple of reasons. We have a cornucopia of great designers from the east- to the west-coast of America, which has bloomed in the last ten years. I think the instantaneousness of information consumption has really helped. They’re the main reasons. But, you’re spot on. Since I started my company nearly 15 years ago, there have been drastic changes to the way men interact with fashion. Men were never interested before, now they really care about what’s in their wardrobes and how they put themselves together in the morning.

LF: I think previously, men saw an interest in fashion as being exclusive to women. Now men are competing with each other, and women.
JV: Guys have more shoes, more clothes, bigger closets. Back in the day, they’d probably have a black pair of shoes, a brown pair of a shoes, and maybe one or two pairs of sneakers. Now they have closets full of clothes, shoes and accessories.

LF: I have more clothes than my female best friends – they’re shocked. So what challenges will menswear designers have to face by showing at such a new event?
JV: They’ve been showing there for years. It’s never been a separate event, but with anything, there’ll be a need for some fine-tuning here and there. How to show, what the best locations are, that kind of thing. When they announced it, the amount of people that registered to attend was unprecedented. I was surprised, I thought that as the event comes after London, Milan and Paris, I didn’t think press would have a budget left or would be too tired, but they’re really intrigued. It will grow like everything else. Nothing’s a home-run straight from the starting line.

LF: You spoke about the CFDA announcing the event, and you’ve spearheaded the event right from the beginning. What’s the reasoning behind your passionate, personal involvement in getting the event going?
JV: It wasn’t an immediate decision. I’ve been showing at Milan, for nearly 8 years now. We had our own slot on the schedule, we were well-attended and always got great responses. From a business standpoint, it wasn’t an easy decision to make. But I opened a store in my hometown of Detroit in the spring and it really made me feel like I should do more to support the city that I grew up in. The CFDA approached me about launching the event and I said that I was really set in Milan, for at least the next year or so. But after Detroit, I felt this inclination to do more, I guess. There was also pressure in being one of the first ones to make a statement of support, as everyone’s focus is directed towards you.

LF: Do you think the move will alter and influence your rock ’n’ roll aesthetic?
JV: I never thought about it, really, I was already deep into finishing this collection when I made the decision to move. I thought about it more in terms of the evolution of my brand and its future. There’s not a lot that I would do differently either showing in Milan or New York. I think the world is so small today, and everything is so instant, so I don’t think it matters anymore where you’re going to show because the world is going to see it whether you’re in New York, Milan or Paris.

“Growing up in Detroit, thinking about fashion was never a thing to do. It was a blue-collar town. I didn’t know about fashion when I was younger. I knew I liked certain styles, but that was it, really.”

LF: I’ve always been interested in art and fashion. But, I think, growing up, there was this apprehension; I got this feeling that boys weren’t allowed to be into fashion.
JV: It’s interesting you say that, and I hear that a lot, too. I never really thought about it. Growing up in Detroit, thinking about fashion was never a thing to do. It was a blue-collar town. I didn’t know about fashion when I was younger. I knew I liked certain styles, but that was it, really.

LF: In my hometown, you didn’t have menswear stores. You had a sportswear store and a cheap, shitty goth-shop. So you were either head-to-toe in a tracksuit, or in jet-black jackets and skinny jeans.
JV: But that’s ok. That’s cool. In today’s world, fashion is everywhere. So men have plenty of opportunities to really express themselves. Growing up, designers were mainly womenswear and couture – now, designers are everywhere designing everything.

Stay tuned to HERO for full SS16 fashion week coverage. NYFW Men’s, which runs from 13th to 15th July.