Brand Strategy: Week 2 EOC

John Varvatos is a famous American contemporary menswear designer. Not noticeably, Varvatos is known for his way of designing pieces that fuse fashion with rock and roll. He has earned many awards throughout his career and has even been recognized as GQ Designer of the Year in 2007: “John’s goal is to red American men of their phobias about style. He wants American guys – regular blokes! – to start saying the F-word: fashion…Once Varvatos injects his image with a lethal dose of Aerosmith, a whiff of Alice Cooper, a soupcon of Iggy Pop, and a whisper of Joe Strummer, men are powerless to resist” (GQ, December 2007 issue). I would consider Varvatos a true innovator for menswear design. Varvatos has many different strengths that play a great deal into his success today. One of his strengths is his experience. He has worked with many of the top menswear designers, before venturing out on his own: “Varvatos joined Polo Ralph Lauren in 1983. Recruited by Calvin Klein in 1990, he was appointed Head of Menswear Design and oversaw the launch of the men's collection and the influential cK brand. In 1995, he returned to Polo as Head of Menswear Design for all Polo Ralph Lauren brands and created the highly successful Polo Jeans Company” (www.nbc.com). So, obviously, Varvatos knows a thing or two about menswear. Also, Varvatos has a way of being able to captivate the men’s demographic in America. The way he fuses music with fashion really grabs people’s attention. Some may consider Varvatos to have a couple of weakness. For example, he only designs for men. In the future, there could always be the possibility that his menswear will not be enough. A demand for a women’s wear designed by Varvatos might grow into demand. With that being said, an opportunity of expanding into designing clothes for women. Most designers venture out into designing clothes outside of their comfort zone, so I would assume that Varvatos might try womenswear. I can predict it being a good opportunity for him. Varvatos’ threats include other designers trying to copy or replicate his designs: “’We have people that come in our store and spend $20,000, and then we get their credit card and we see that they’re with another designer or a vertical retail store,’ he said” (nymag.com, Marcus). However, Varvatos doesn’t see that as a major threat; it just means that there is a high demand for his clothes: “If they stop coming here to buy it and they’re going to somebody else, you’re no longer the hot person. When people stop knocking me off, that means we’re not the relevant people anymore” (nymag.com, Marcus). All in all, Varvatos knows his stuff and he definitely knows what he is doing. He is a true inspiration for prospective designers.

Images below are some of my favorite pieces from the John Varvatos Spring 2012 Collection: