Photo of John Varvatos and Nick Jonas © Getty Images for John Varvatos

There is no lifestyle brand more rooted in music than John Varvatos. Season after season, the beloved designer continues to unite fashion and music with collections geared toward modern men and brought to life via riveting campaigns featuring music icons such as Ringo Star, Cheap Trick, KISS and rising stars such as Hozier and Machine Gun Kelly.

The latest mega star to join this accomplished list is Nick Jonas as the face of the John Varvatos spring/summer 2018 campaign. Photographed by acclaimed photographer Danny Clinch, the campaign follows Jonas around New York City as he visits his local hot spots wearing John Varvatos sunglass style V521 from De Rigo Rem.

But Jonas is doing more than facing the campaign—the singer/songwriter has partnered with Varvatos to design JV x NJ, a limited-edition capsule collection featuring special items for the spring season. From knitwear to leather jackets, each piece in the collection fuses the brand’s rock ’n’ roll spirit with Jonas’ energy and style. The collaboration has also cultivated a lasting friendship. “The process in working with Nick is amazing.” Varvatos says. “He’s a musician, he’s an artist, he’s an actor; he’s intrigued by everything in the world, and I had a real connection with that. It’s inspiring to be around someone who is not only connected with the trade that they do, but also with what’s happening in the environment around him, and how that connects to what we do with style.” The sentiment is mutual from Jonas: “The human connection was so real because the friendship evolved in such a natural way, and the next step was trying to make something great together.”

Varvatos and Jonas celebrated the launch of the JV x NJ collaboration with a special invitation-only event in NYC during Grammy weekend. The new collection marks the first time the brand is featuring a joint label, making the partnership even more unique. “We’ve never done another collaboration with any artist or any individual, on the product, the design, and the aesthetic of the brand,” says Varvatos. “I look forward to doing many more things with Nick in the future.”

–Christine Yeh