Ngo on the Go: Art, Fashion, Lifestyle
Peter Ngo knew from an early age that he wanted to be involved with fashion and art. Through a singular focus and hard work, that is where he is making his mark: at John Varvatos in East Hampton and at the various galleries and art spaces that have shown his photography and paintings.
As manager of the East Hampton Varvatos store, Mr. Ngo’s job description has expanded to stylist and part of the brand’s creative team, working with Mr. Varvatos in New York and at other locations throughout the country and world. “It’s cool. I get to style rock stars,” he said, while flying to Los Angeles, Milan, and Detroit to go to Varvatos-sponsored benefits, store openings, and launches of collections.
Music is a main inspiration for Mr. Varvatos, whose versatility lends itself not just to designing clothes, but cars, motorcycles, and guitars, as well as choosing the art that goes on the walls of his stores. With increasing responsibilities, however, Mr. Ngo said he is now trusted with the look of the East Hampton store.
He sees it as a “comfortable environment, not just a retail store.” He said people like its casualness and unassuming nature. With classic rock albums playing and masculine furniture that has a strong design element, the store makes customers want to talk about art, design, music, and sports, he said.
It’s the rare man who enters knowing exactly what he wants. According to Mr. Ngo, “Ninety percent of guys don’t know what to wear or when to wear it. That’s where I come into play.” He will put a couple of looks together and go from there. While celebrities tend to know what looks good on them through their constant exposure to stylists and pictures of themselves, “the business guys don’t know how to put a sport coat with a T-shirt and a pair of jeans and don’t know how to accessorize or layer.” Their casual fallback is always khakis and polo shirts. Different styles of fabrication, metal buttons, a slight ombre cast, or colorful stitching are some of the ways the brand breaks that mold, even when it works in a similar vein.
Born and raised here, Mr. Ngo attended East Hampton schools before going into the city to attend both the Fashion Institute of Technology and the School of Visual Arts. He stayed for a while and pursued fashion photography, a creative outlet that has continued to the present, but in more artistic ways. He then moved back here and has been at the Varvatos store for seven years.
“John has been really cool in helping me out over the years,” he said. “The first three years were a blur, and then in the fourth year, I became more and more involved with everything.” It’s a seven-day job though, and while he loves painting, “studio time is a rarity.” On the day we spoke, the South Fork was in the midst of one of its recent blizzards — one of the few times the store was closed — and he was actually working on his art. “I cram in my creative side whenever I have a moment to paint or make photographs.”
He was in his teens when he had his first art show in Bridgehampton at the Elaine Benson Gallery, where Farrell Building Company now has its headquarters. He said he got to know her from going to all of her openings as a kid.
His painting style is surrealist. A straightforward landscape or seascape takes a turn with disembodied heads or other stylized creatures floating in or above it. “I’ve always loved surrealism and landscapes along with the ocean. I guess the strange characters are my creative outlet.”
Some of the artists who have inspired him include Salvador Dali, Rene Magritte, Frida Kahlo, Neo Rauch, and George Condo, whom he sees in East Hampton a lot, he said. From the usual trove of other locals he cited Eric Fischl and April Gornik as inspirations as well as Raphael Mazzucco, Peter Beard, and Larry Rivers, just off the top of his head.
One thing he shares in common with his boss is the inspiration he receives from music. He is grateful that his job brings him into contact with musicians and that many are now his friends. He said he is excited to see Eminem and Alice Cooper open the new Varvatos Detroit store at the end of March. Mr. Varvatos is from Detroit and has said that a lot of his influences came from the rock scene there.
Mr. Ngo is also looking forward to a benefit event that the New York store will participate in with Mike Peters of the Alarm over Memorial Day weekend. The East Hampton store used to have live musical events too, but he said the village shut them down a couple of years ago. Now the events here are more staid, such as book signings.
He may have drunk the brand’s Kool-Aid when he asserts that Varvatos is not just about art and music, but is a lifestyle. Still, he said it allows him to create looks for everyone who comes in the store, whether they are “in finance, the music industry, or a world traveler. We have all different outfits for them and can do all that.” He used himself as an example, as someone who has a lot of tattoos but can lose that part of himself in a tuxedo or suit. It’s inspired by music, but not exclusive to that world, he said.
Still, the list of people he has met or gotten to know through the East Hampton store or through company-related events is long and impressive, and many of them have long been idols of his. They include Bono and the Edge from U2, Jimmy Page, Perry Farrell, Duff McKagan, Tommy Stinson, John Tempesta, Jack White, Lou Reed, and Mick Jagger. Those who have visited the East Hampton store have included Paul McCartney, Thurston Moore, and Billy Squier. With Mr. Varvatos’s latest line feeling reminiscent of the early bohemian Bob Dylan, he is hopeful he will get to meet another idol soon.