In our view, almost all are extraordinary and show that menswear has its heroes: Kenneth Cole, Ron Chereskin, Marc Ecko, Perry Ellis, David Chu for Nautica, Jack Mascharka, Shaant, Anthony Caputo, John Varvatos, Moreschi, Alternative Apparel, Yoko Devereaux, PowerSox, 2xist and Pirelli P Zero, reviewed by Phillip D. Johnson

Photographed by Cheryl Gorski/www.cherylgorski.com
Shaant photography provided by Sam'n Iqbal/Sam'n Iqbal PR
Pirelli, Moreschi, and Alternative Apparel photography provided by the manufacturers
Anthony Caputo photography provided by the designer

John Varvatos

CCLAIMED MENSWEAR designer John Varvatos first came to New York City to work for Polo Ralph Lauren in 1983, and used the opportunity to soak up as much knowledge of the market-place before leaving to start his own line 2000. Mr Varvatos' approach to designing and fashion is to combine luxurious fabrics with causal pieces to create understated yet elegant looks worthy of the office or a night out at a movie première. His various collections comprises of tailored clothing, sportswear, leather accessories, and footwear, worn by actors Hugh Jackman, Adrien Brody, Brad Pitt and a host of celebrities the world over.
   His fall 2004 collection was inspired by the ‘streets of Soho, [with its] melting pot of culture, architecture, style and unique way of life,’ and it was awashed in shades of espresso (dark brown), midnight black, cordovan with antiqued leathers, shearlings and washed wools contrasting with cashmeres and fur trim accents. He showed very strong suits, pairing them with stretch tank tops, lambskin zip vests, and great looking feather weight merino–cashmere ribbed sweaters. My favourite suit was his espresso wool twill two button pocket Soho suit (paired with a chartreuse–espresso merino–cashmere geometric turtleneck sweater). He excelled with his outerwear pieces, with special mention going to his espresso antique suede down-filled snorkel jacket with fur trimmed hood and dark brown mink finish shearling asymmetrical jacket. I also loved his "elegant gangster" black mink finished shearling double breasted full length coat (over a beautifully cut charcoal wool evening stripe peak lapel suit with suede trim).

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