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Taking time out from working on
his fall 2004 menswear collection, John Varvatos talked to
rocker Pete Yorn—who will be on tour with R.E.M. in
October—about the elements of men’s style. Mike Steele
listened in.
By Michael Steele
New York: So what makes a man
stylish?
John Varvatos: It starts with
simplicity, not being overstyled or complicated. And with
things that feel like they have a bit of a heritage, even
though they may not, but there’s a sense about them that they
have a life span and it’s not just for the moment. It’s also
the way you carry yourself. We start off sometimes like we’re
designing this for an artist—whether it’s a painter,
photographer, musician, or whatever—someone who’s creative,
because creative people are generally more comfortable with
themselves, and they also tend to be more eclectic in the way
they put themselves together.
Pete Yorn: I don’t have that much
stuff. It’s important for me to have a couple of jackets. As
long as I have two or three jackets that I like, then it’s
like a new outfit. Or “I changed today!” Plus I’m always in a
different city, so I can get away with wearing the same thing
two days in a row and no one knows except the band.
JV: They don’t care.
PY: Some of these guys are wearing
the same shirt for four days. It’s like, “Come on, guys!”
NY:
John, how did you get into fashion?
JV:
It was kind of through music. When I was in high school, I
really wanted to look cool, so I was always trying to dress
like a rock star. Then at the end of my high-school days, I
started working at a cool men’s store. And I worked my way
through college selling clothes.
NY:
Your clothes tend to have a mix-and-match eclecticism.
JV:
I don’t like things that are so uniform. I like people who mix
things and come up with their own sense of style. That’s
always been my thing. I don’t want to feel like I’m wearing
everything so perfectly thought-out. Even though oftentimes
you do, you don’t want to have it come across like you thought
it out so much.
PY:
That’s exactly it.
JV:
You want it to look like you just threw it together, but the
whole thrown-together thing looks amazing.
PY:
I wasn’t sure how the shoot was going to work, but we just
mixed it. I’d say, “I like that piece,” and just throw it on
with what I was already wearing. And I’m always wearing old
T-shirts and jeans and stuff like that. But it felt natural.
JV:
Those are the ones that I like the best. The ones that feel
like it just came together. Especially with what you do, you
don’t want to look like a fashion model. You want to look like
a rock star. Right? You want it to look like you kind of just
threw it together.
PY:
I’m the worst about wearing the same three stupid T-shirts for
like two years.
JV:
But there’s something about those T-shirts that you like.
Either the fit or the wash or whatever it is. You wouldn’t
wear any T-shirt, so you wear those three. Because they’re
amazing T-shirts. That’s why I still have those pieces in my
wardrobe—because I can’t give them up.
NY:
Such as?
JV:
A lot of vintage jeans and jackets and leather motorcycle
jackets. Things that I wear more than anything because they
just feel comfortable. I also like the attitude. I’ll throw
them on with something dressy, and they kind of bring it down
to a point that is more my sense of style.
NY:
So, Pete, what got you interested in music in the first place?
PY:
I have two older brothers, and they were always in bands, and
they were always practicing in my basement. I would just sit
down there and watch them play.
JV:
What kind of music?
PY:
Early on, it was Judas Priest covers. I was really into Iron
Maiden and Judas Priest from a young age, but for some reason
they never really inspired me—until I started listening to the
Smiths, and all of a sudden I became very connected to the
whole look of the thing and the way the music made me feel.
JV:
A little different songwriting style, too.
PY:
Yeah, very different. But because I was growing up in suburban
New Jersey, it seemed really exotic. I wanted to dress like a
little Morrissey with the hair and the glasses and the whole
deal. I even would try to sing English-sounding when I was a
teenager. Then I discovered other things, like R.E.M.
JV:
Must be cool to tour with them.
PY:
It’s amazing. We played together in Amsterdam, and it was my
first R.E.M. show ever. I was talking to Michael before we
went on, and I was like, “You guys are one of my favorite
bands of all time. I know every song on every album.”
NY:
So what kind of music have you guys been listening to lately?
JV:
I’m all over the board—everything from jazz to classic rock to
blues. We have music playing in the studio all day long. I’ve
been listening to the new Steve Winwood album, in which he’s
kind of reinvented himself for like the fifth time, and it
sounds pretty fantastic.
PY:
My favorite record of the last year was probably the Interpol
record.
JV:
That was on our most-played list.
PY:
I like their sense of melody. It took me a while to get into
it. I was kind of dismissing it. My friend took me to a show,
and I remember thinking that they should have a smoke machine
or something. And maybe three weeks later, I hear the first
song on that record, “Untitled,” on TV, and I’m not even
looking at it, but I hear the song, and I’m like, Wait a
second! and it all just clicked right there.
NY:
What inspires you?
JV:
A lot of it comes from the street. Just watching people.
Sometimes it comes from architecture. The simplicity of great
clothes is that they’re not so in-your-face, and it’s about
all the details. And when I look at great buildings, it’s the
finesse of the little details that really makes them.
PY:
For me, it’s kind of similar. I take inspiration from a lot of
different places. Watching friends deal with things or talk
about things or watching family members go through
experiences. A lot of times, I’ll just put myself in their
shoes and write about it. A lot of it comes from books or
movies. A hint of somebody’s personality could inspire a whole
number of songs. And, of course, there’s my own experiences;
but I get bored with those pretty quick—someone else’s are
much more interesting.
NY:
Do you ever look back at other eras for ideas?
JV:
I think there are certain clothes that never change. For
example, every generation discovers military clothing. Every
generation discovers Converse sneakers. But for me, that’s for
new generations to discover. I never look back, because you
get too locked into things or it becomes too costumey. The
possibilities are to take the influences that you smell in the
air and put them into something that feels new. It’s the same
thing with music.
PY:
John nailed it. There’s a difference between being completely
derivative and trying to find some inspiration in something
old and making it your own. Even if it’s just for the sake of
making it different. Whether it’s better or worse, or whether
it needed to be changed.
JV:
There are influences in everybody’s life. The thing is to
filter them and come out with your own vocabulary.
PY:
It was really cool to talk to you. There were a lot of
parallels I wasn’t expecting.
JV:
Like I said, I’m a big fan.
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