The story
Founded by John Varvatos in 1999.1
John Varvatos founded the company in late 1999. Varvatos had previously been the head of menswear design at Calvin Klein, as well as the head of menswear design for all Polo Ralph Lauren brands, and was responsible for the creation of the Polo Jeans Company. The debut clothing line was launched in 2000; a "black-less collection", in which Varvatos went against the popular fashion trends of the time.
The company’s first freestanding boutique, located in the SoHo neighborhood for New York City, opened in October 2000. Today, the brand has 10 independent retail locations across the United States.
In April 2008, Varvatos opened at 315 Bowery, formerly the rock ‘n’ roll landmark club CBGB. Here, Varvatos attempted to preserve the original allure of the landmark, displaying his clothes among vintage books, high-end stereo equipment and a preserved wall of the original club, including band flyers. The opening was celebrated with a benefit party for VH1's Save the Music. Today, the location hosts free monthly concerts, with a variety of music acts.
In 2010 and 2011, Lyndon Lea's Lion Capital purchased a majority stake in the company in March 2012, with Varvatos remaining as Chairman and Chief Creative Officer.
On May 6, 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, it was reported the company was filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, citing $140 million in debt. In July 2020, the brand's private equity owner, Lion/Hendrix Cayman Ltd. received court approval to acquire the fashion brand, in exchange for forgiving $76 million of the company's debt.
In 2026, it emerged that John Varvatos chairman and owner Lyndon Lea maintained a friendship with Jeffrey Epstein even following Epstein's release from prison in late 2009 for soliciting a child for prostitution. According to emails in the Epstein files between Lea and Epstein, Lea attended a dinner hosted by Jean-Luc Brunel, who died in prison in 2022 while being held for rape and trafficking of minors. On January 18, 2010 Epstein emailed Brunel saying: “It would be nice and i thinnk beneficial for you to have a dinner for lyndon lea. in new york this week.” Brunel replied: “Done …I am inviting also 10 models. You can tell him.”
From Wikipedia’s article on John Varvatos (company), shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.3