Ten years in, and John Varvatos, the number one on America’s Most Rock ‘n’ Roll Designers, is still going strong. The brand, that is. Don’t worry about Varvatos himself, he’s a seasoned fashion veteran having worked for both Ralph Lauren and Calvin Klein. You can see why he left: during the last decade he have carved out his own specific niche – and SS ’11 was a continuation of his rock lifestyle brand.

Wrinkly but nevertheless dandy-esque outfits took the Milan stage. Grey was initially the main colour but the palette soon changed towards a subtle mixture of light blue, khaki and moss green. A Nehru-collared suede jacket pointed towards the more mature direction for this season, but anyone worried about a lack of youthful attitude can relax. An array of multi-layered cardigans, combined with Varvatos’ signature scarf, took care of those doubts.

Dazed Digital: What did you look towards for inspiration times time around?
John Varvatos: We always have a bit of rock’ n’ roll, and this season I saw the documentary Exile on Main Street about the Rolling Stones. This is not about that specific band, more about the rock ‘n’ roll gentleman leaving the city and going to the country to get away from stuff. He’s more relaxed but still have to be chic and cool, but he doesn’t want be uptight any more!

DD: So is this proof that musicians can grow older and dress gracefully?
John Varvatos: Some of them can, not all of them. But Jimmy Page and Robert Plant, for example, still look fantastic in the 60s.

DD: Loads of cardigans: are they your staple piece?
John Varvatos: Yeah, kind off. There was loads of light ones, which are great for layering, and that’s perfect for the rest of the look. For me, it’s less about individual pieces and more about what you put together.

DD: Fave item in the collection?
John Varvatos: I really like the over dyed plaids we did in a linen fabric, but it went a bit off, but that’s great because I like it perfectly imperfect!