We Sold Our Soul For Rock and Roll

Los Angeles designer, artist and musician, Marc Vachon is best known for his incredibly sexy cuts of corduroy and denim bottoms for men and women. He also creates some of the most recognizable logos and silhouettes in Rock and Roll today. Vachon began making clothing in 1999 and within two years, was championed by Hollywood It Girl, Ilaria Urbinati who fell in love with his Brazilian cord pants and cord snap caps. Ilaria, who at the time was the buyer for her aunt's esteemed Sunset Plaza boutique, Laura Urbinati in West Hollywood set out to help Vachon gain exposure and quickly brought attention from New Yorker Dani Levy's DailyCandy.com From then on, it has been amazing to say the least.

These two influential fashionistas turned some of the most beautiful women in fashion on to Marc's designs, among them, Salma Hayek, Shiva Rose McDermott, Josie Maran, Devon Aoki and Kirsty Hume. Unexpectedly, men began gravitating towards Marc's designs which brought a whole new element to his design strategy. Artists like Dave Kushner of Velvet Revolver and Perry Farrell and Dave Navarro of Jane's Addiction were among the first to embrace Marc's clothing designs. Vachon has been fortunate to forge his name among the Rock and Roll community as well by dressing music superstars like Slash, Scott Weiland, Duff McKagan, Christina Aguilera, Madonna and Mariah Carey.

photo: justice howard

Since then, Marc has partnered with his wife, Doreen Vachon, who helped expand the basic bottoms line found on MarcVachon.com to include MV's edgy accessories, jackets, hoodies and tshirts. Being his biggest fan, she was happy to take on the responsibility of cultivating the direction of the website to expose more of Marc's talent. "I wanted everyone to know just how talented he really is, so I jumped in and said, 'I'll do it'. He blows me away with his creativity and energy. When we met, I knew he played guitar and thought that was nice. As a club booker I was surrounded by an endless sea of musicians, but as soon as I found out he could sew, too- well, let's just say I knew I had found the guy for me."

Born and raised in Hollywood, California, Vachon has enjoyed a life of creativity and inspiration. Growing up in the shadow of the Hollywood sign he was never at a loss for something to do. Before he was old enough to drive, he explored the city on his own and immersed himself in the culture and influence of the emerging punk scene.

In 1981, Vachon's first band, Mad Society released a 5 song EP that featured photography by renowned Los Angeles photojournalist Gary Leonard. They also contributed to a variety of compilations that encapsulated the burgeoning punk rock scene. They opened for such punk legends as BLACK FLAG, CIRCLE JERKS, X, THE GEARS, THE WEIRDOS and THE PLUGZ! Mad Society vinyl is highly collectible! Their style, accomplishments and fearless attitude was astonishing at a time when most kids their age were still home watching CHiPs. They were together a whopping 11 months. Marc was 13.

Vachon and Mad Society at the Hong Kong Cafe, Downtown 1980

Vachon feels extremely lucky to have been able to see some of the most influential bands in person at such a young age and absorb the energy from amazing performances by artists like The Germs, Bad Brains, Ramones, X, The Circle Jerks and Black Flag to name a few. He really believes it was his involvement in the L.A. punk scene that has inspired his work as an artist and musician due to the fact that the main credo of the scene was "Do It Yourself". He has a unique perspective as a designer since he not only watched from the sidelines as history was being made, but was actually part of the process himself by learning so much by being in the company of many L.A. punk legends.

Funhouse Marc

Upon entering his late teens, Vachon had moved on to other musical projects founding a band that would later go on to share the stage with bands as diverse and legendary as GUNS N' ROSES, THE DAMNED, JANE'S ADDICTION, and MOTORHEAD. His band was FUNHOUSE and they totally crystalized the Southern California skater lifestyle evidenced by their love of skateboarding, rock and roll and punk influences. In a word, they dressed like badasses.

Vachon soon began experimenting with a sewing machine given to him by a close friend and immediately began making kick ass hats and clothes to wear onstage. Soon all his friends were hitting him up to make them something. With the addition of clothing like patchwork skater shorts and pants, this inevitably landed him his first store accounts in Los Angeles, not to mention a feature article on FUNHOUSE and centerfold featuring Vachon in SPIN magazine at the ripe old age of 23.

Vachon in Spin Magazine

After the SPIN article, things really started picking up. One day while browsing the racks at his local Hollywood magazine stand, he was blown away to see none other than STEVEN TYLER of AEROSMITH fame donning one of his patchwork hats on the cover of Music Connection magazine. This lit the fuse which would evolve into a close association with music and television. He creating custom pieces for television shows such as Mad TV and In the House, starring LL Cool J. Other celebrities who were early fans of his designs were artists like Salt N Pepa, who featured his hats in their "Do You Really Want Me" video, comedian/actor Pauly Shore, lovely actress Laura San Giacomo and future superstar Nicolas Cage.

As a musician and artist, he has been lucky to merge the two greatest influences in his life, music and art to create an original voice in the world of Rock and Roll. The year 2002 was the year for Vachon who became immersed in the fashion business on a level he never expected. After receiving attention from New York's DAILYCANDY.COM, he began relationships with those in the fashion and music industry that would help him to establish himself as an original voice with a rock and roll twist.

The past couple of years have been extremely rewarding for Vachon as he has been honored to make special custom pieces for such legendary rock icons as THE ROLLING STONES, THE WHO G 'n R, AEROSMITH, MARIAH CAREY, MADONNA, Grammy nominees VELVET REVOLVER as well as BUCKCHERRY, DAVE NAVARRO, WILL.I.AM, Jerry Cantrell of ALICE IN CHAINS, Billy Duffy of THE CULT, legendary guitarist STEVE STEVENS of Billy Idol fame, BILLY MORRISON of Circus Diablo and Camp Freddy and metal upstarts GODHEAD . More recently, Vachon made his foray into custom furniture, working with Los Angeles luxury interior designer LIANA REID who commissioned him to work on custom dining chairs and drapery for Will.I.Am of the BLACK EYED PEAS.

It's been a long, rewarding road and the Vachons are grateful for the support and love they've received from all of their customers, famous and not-yet-famous, from the UK to the U.S., from Hungary, Spain to Iceland and Australia, Hollywood is truly the land where dreams become reality, so to share a little bit of it with with their customers all over the world, the Vachons are proud to dress the best rockers on the planet.