John Varvatos returns to Pitti

By

Godfrey Deeny

Published
Nov 14, 2018

John Varvatos will return to Pitti next January, as the American designer makes his reentry into the European orbit.

 
Varvatos, who has developed a substantial business with his blend of authentic Rockstar style balanced by gentlemanly New England tailoring, will present all three of his lines inside Pitti’s central nerve system, the medieval Fortezza da Basso in Florence.
 
And, in what is building to be a bumper season, Slam Jam will blast off the week with an urban culture event inside the Marino Marini Museum, a Renaissance church that is home probably Italy’s greatest sculpture.

Varvatos last showed in Italy back in January 2015 in Milan, with a poetic rocker collection inspired by a Richard Avedon portrait of Bob Dylan. Last January, he advanced his show by one week to coincide with the Grammy Awards, showing crinkled versions of classic cool-dude attire.
 
In Pitti, he plans to present an installation at the Spazio dello Sprone to showcase the newest ideas from three collections (John Varvatos, John Varvatos Star USA and Bootleg by John Varvatos) designed to encompass a modern, rebel edge while staying true to the brand's artisan roots.

While in other news stretching from sea to ski, Vilebrequin, the tony French swimwear line, will debut its first ever denim collection, which will be produced and distributed by Italian company Giada SpA. While Rossignol, the Alpine ski specialist, will debut a new collection by Philippe Model, the brilliant Parisian hatter and gadfly artist.
 
Together, they are planning an installation in the garden of Villa Vittoria; in addition, Philippe Model Paris will be present at the Fortezza da Basso with the Montecarlo project, an innovative concept of running that marks the evolution of the brand in a contemporary urban direction.
 
The next edition of the giant Florentine menswear salon, Pitti Uomo 95, runs from January 8 to 11, 2019.