Over the years, John Varvatos has kept a private notebook documenting particular elements of rock style. In JOHN VARVATOS, he shares the contents of that notebook, revealing his perspective on how rock & roll style and classic music photography have influenced his own designs, as well as, how musicians' evolving styles have impacted pop culture and fashion.
Accompanying the text is Varvatos's personally curated collection of more than 250 stellar images-some of the most provocative images shot by top rock photographers from the late 1960s to today. The book includes never-before-seen and classic photographs of artists ranging from Jimi Hendrix and the Stones to the Roots and Kings of Leon. The featured photographers are among the world's finest rock photographers, including Mick Rock, Elliott Landy, Bob Gruen, Danny Clinch, Lynn Goldsmith, Gered Mankowitz, Mark Seliger, Robert Knight, Ken Regan, Neal Preston, Timothy White, Baron Wolman, and Robert Matheu.
Intermingled with historic photographs are outtakes from Varvatos' own fashion shoots (shot by Danny Clinch), including artists ranging from Green Day to ZZ Top to Dave Matthews, illustrating the timeless yet fashion-history-drenched appeal of John Varvatos designs. What becomes obvious is the importance of individual style-and the means by which musicians reinvent themselves by building on what's come before. More than a showcase of rock style, the book serves as a how-to for creating one's own unique rock-infused look.
Following an introduction in which Varvatos discusses his coming of age in the rock hotbed of Detroit in the 1960s and 1970s, the book unfolds via 19 richly illustrated thematic chapters. Each chapter contains an introductory essay in which Varvatos provides his point of view as well as some history on the subject at hand, then progresses into a dynamic presentation of some of the greatest rock & roll photographs of all time that relate to that chapter's theme. Every image is captioned by Varvatos, providing incisive commentary on the artist and his or her look. Each chapter also features numerous quotes from the musicians themselves, including Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Iggy Pop, Slash, Robert Plant, Steven Tyler, and Patti Smith.
