John Varvatos Kicks Off 'Fashion Star' With New Collection

NBC's couture competition show Fashion Star is down to the wire, so what better time for John Varvatos to show off some of his new threads? Menswear designer, show judge and rock enthusiast Varvatos opened the show with his new line. Per usual, Varvatos wore the rock influence on his sleeve, with a few jackets that looked like less electric approaches to the Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Bandalbum art. In keeping with the aesthetics, his models walked out to Queen's "Now I'm Here."

Following Varvatos' exhibition came the contestants. Nzimiro Oputa was able to land a $100,000 offer from Macy's for a collection built around his versatile, classic cardigans. After a brief and tense bidding war, Kara Laricks' distinctive tuxedo shirts were sold to Saks Fifth Avenue for $80,000, with H&M saying they'd "save up some money" for her.

In the next pairing, Luciana Scarabello and Nikki Poulos didn't fare quite as well. Nikki ended sans bid with her prom dress-style maxi frocks; Luciana's retro-evoking dresses earned a $50,000 bid from Saks. Ronnie Escalante got a $50,000 bid from H&M thanks in part to an innovative ad campaign involving a few red balloons, but Ross Bennett, who rocked the classic look but couldn't get his more modern designs just right, and Orly Shani, who the buyers saw as having taken "a step backwards," found themselves on the chopping block as well. Ross ended up with the elimination, and now only six remain, with next week yielding a triple elimination.
But anyway, back to Varvatos.

For some more of Varvatos' hits for 2012, here's his rock-edged showing from Men's Fashion Week in Milan back in January: