The John Varvatos brand is getting a boost for its 25th anniversary.

The company, now owned by the private equity firm Lion/Hendrix Cayman Ltd., is returning to SoHo where it opened its first store in 2000. The debut of the 3,200-square-foot store at 73 Wooster Street will be accompanied by the launch of the John Varvatos Anniversary Collection and supported by a new campaign that blends the brand’s history in New York with its rock ‘n’ roll heritage.

“It’s really a love letter to New York,” said Catherine Jobling, chief operating officer of Varvatos and its sister brand, AllSaints. “For our 25th anniversary celebration, we wanted to bring the brand back to SoHo and sit with our peers.”

The new SoHo store space is designed to blend American alternative luxury and rock-inspired style, the company said. It features 13-foot ceilings, antique fixtures, custom vintage furnishings and modular bronze screens along with three sculptures. It will carry the brand’s full range of tailoring, leather goods, footwear, accessories and fragrance, as well as fine art and music photography curated by the Morrison Hotel Gallery, with all pieces available for purchase. There will also be musical instruments on display.

John Varvatos, the man, created the rock ‘n’ roll-inspired brand in 1999 and for the first few years, it was associated with Nautica Enterprises. When VF Corp. bought Nautica in 2003, Varvatos became part of that corporation. But the brand struggled for attention under VF’s ownership and in March 2012, VF sold a majority stake in the business to Lion Capital for an undisclosed sum. In 2020, during the pandemic, the company filed for bankruptcy, Lion/Hendrix Cayman purchased the business for around $97 million and Varvatos left the company. He is now chief design officer for Under Armour.

While its founder may no longer be involved, the brand continues to offer the same aesthetic that he established. Its current vice president of creative, Karl Aberg, worked with Varvatos himself for many years so he is well versed in the brand’s history.

To commemorate the anniversary, Aberg designed a 25-piece collection for fall that he called “A Love Letter,” featuring pieces inspired by the archive and refreshed with modern fits and fabrics.

Key pieces include the Ellwood shearling coat, a revival of a design first sketched by Aberg for Varvatos’ fall 2000 runway show; the Woodward soft jacket, rendered this time in Italian lambskin with a silver herringbone print, and the Varick jacket and Mercer pants, both offered in metallic-threaded houndstooth. There’s also the Anthony trucker and J703 jeans with silver foil finishes that speak to the brand’s rock ‘n’ roll history. Footwear highlights include the Two-Five-Zip Boot, an update of the Morrison Sharpei, in silver-treated sheepskin.

“The brand is celebrating its 25th year this season, and the DNA was developed early on — a mix of rock sensibility, refinement and artisanal fabric, which has remained consistent,” Aberg said. “I couldn’t think of a better place to kick off the milestone celebration than in our new SoHo flagship boutique here in New York.”

Pieces from the anniversary collection will sport a new label that was developed in house that will also be used on the store’s shopping bags. The hand-drawn emblem is inspired by medallions and hallmarks and features two interweaving J’s with filigree over a V. The anniversary mark is featured on the creased knit velvet bomber, Salvator, in beaded embroidery on the chest. It is also embroidered and overprinted on a graphic T-shirt, and woven into a soft, tonal allover jacquard pattern in a silk blend.

Jobling said full-price sales of the anniversary collection have been “unbelievably good” since the merchandise hit stores with a coat inspired by one first created in 2000, the denim collection with its relaxed fit and a deep red tuxedo among the most popular items.

At the same time, the company is debuting a campaign shot by Timothy White in SoHo, Chinatown, under the Brooklyn Bridge and at 315 Bowery, the former home of the underground music club CBGB that now houses another Varvatos store.

Jobling said the campaign is intended to be “reminiscent of the past, but with more of a modern edge.”

The Wooster Street store brings the number of John Varvatos units to 17 and is its most elaborate. This year alone, the company has opened, relocated or renovated four other stores: San Francisco, San Diego, Las Vegas and Miami. “That’s really helping our business,” she said.

Overall, Jobling said the brand is performing well, despite the macroeconomic challenges. “The only part of the business that is not great are the outlets,” she said, “but we’re trying to safeguard the full-price business. Our wholesale business is steady and we feel very blessed that sales are good in this tough market.”

She said the brand has been benefiting from the fact that it has an “edge” that many of the popular quiet luxury brands do not. “For the guy who wants to be a little adventurous, they gravitate to us,” she said.

The company will celebrate the opening of the new store with a party on Tuesday at the Hotel Chelsea.