Covet the Comeback: How a Son of Greek Immigrants Found Success, Lost Everything, Then Built a Fashion Empire

by Christos Garkinos

Long before creating Covet by Christos, the world's leading livestreamer of all things luxury, future founder and CEO Christos Garkinos grew up in Detroit as the gay son of Greek immigrants and started working in his parents' diner at the age of four.

Seeking a bigger life post-college, Garkinos took a job under Richard Branson in the mid-90's heyday of Virgin Megastores. Beginning to rub shoulders with A-list celebrities, he embarked on a 25-year fashion and media career with many highs and lows. Covet the Comeback lays bare the entire story-as well as all the things that can get swept beneath the red carpet.

Garkinos reinvented the resale luxury market and was coined the "Robin Hood of Fashion." A breakout role on Bravo TV soon followed, as did a lucrative Home Shopping Network stint-though with it came countless coke-fueled parties and the slow descent into addiction. When Garkinos' hard-earned empire crumbled, he realized he was near financial ruin.

By the time Garkinos got sober, the world was in the midst of a global pandemic-and, despite the fact that he was driving around in a Range Rover, he was completely broke. A chance meeting where he uttered the word "trudging" led to him starting a trunk show business that went virtual and has since brought in more than 100 million dollars in sales worldwide.

For future business moguls and dreamers of all kinds, Covet the Comeback is far more than a must-read redemption story. It's a masterclass in learning that we all fall down-and how to get back up in style.

208 pages, Hardcover

Published March 23, 2025

About the author

Christos Garkinos is a fashion entrepreneur, social commerce innovator, television personality and author. Born to Greek immigrant parents in Detroit, he worked with industry giants including Disney and Virgin Megastores before launching his own successful fashion line on HSN. Garkinos was a pioneer in the luxury resale business and the star of a Bravo TV show. He has been featured in Vogue, Harper's Bazaar and The New York Times and founded Covet by Christos, a 100 million dollar luxury live-streaming network and community platform. Garkinos lives in Los Angeles with his husband, Rolland. Covet the Comeback is his first book.

Reviews

[Allie Cott]

Loved it…fun easy read…inspiring story about what it takes to succeed.

[Heather Gloster]

Sit down, Bessie: you’re in for a wild ride!

Covet the Comeback is the inspiring story of how the son of immigrants came back from nothing (twice!), beat addiction (more than twice!), overcame a broken heart, divorce (twice!), and built a community of strangers into a fashion empire.

Christos Garkinos was a mid-western boy with a crush on Tom Ford and a dream. You’ll be on the edge of your seat crying from laughter, inspired by his kindness and bravery, and if you happen to catch his instagram shows @covetbychristos, looking chic AF the whole time. You’d be dumb to miss it.

[Bridget Cott]

Such a fun read! Truly an inspiring story about how hard work pays off.

[Julie Kurtzman]

Covet the Comeback is an inspiring roller coaster of a read that takes you beyond the velvet ropes and behind the scenes of some of the biggest brands. Through the glamorous highs and gut-wrenching lows of the extraordinary life and remarkable career of Christos Garkinos, the book is filled with bold-faced names, dishy stories and deeply rooted in the unwavering power of family, friendship and self-belief. Covet the Comeback is a self-made success story, and Christos’s candid storytelling is as captivating as it is uplifting. His journey is a testament to perseverance, reinvention, resilience, and staying true to oneself. I couldn’t put it down and can’t wait to see what his next chapter brings!

[Ginger Ale]

I had high expectations for this book given the hype the author and his community of shoppers gave it before its formal release. Unfortunately, it was mostly a waste of time. The book is rife with anecdotes that constitute little more than namedropping to give the author relevance (how many times will he tell us that he could have gone to Harvard, but didn't?). His career arc is an interesting one, but the pre-release hype painted this book as an honest portrayal of his struggle and success over addiction. Instead, that struggle is barely a footnote. I'm glad the author was able to overcome an unhealthy addiction to drugs and alcohol, but this book was clearly an attempt to drum up the live-selling business he has built over the past ~5 years before selling off his "beloved" community to the interests of private equity investors. My take? It did more harm than good if that was the goal. Sorry, Stos.

[Diane Knutzen]

This book was packed full of personality. I loved how this book really showed Christos’s personality. It gave a good sense of who he is.

I loved the font that was used in the physical book. It was nice and easy to read.

I love how Christos’s story teaches that it’s ok to fall flat on our face. It’s all about how we get back up and comeback from that. How we need to ask for things in order to get them. How taking chances is a good thing even if we don’t know how it’s going to end. How everything will turn out just as it’s supposed to. This book was quite inspirational.

I did however take a LONG time to finish this book because while it was good while I was reading it, once I put it down, I forgot about it and took a while to pick it back up each time.

Overall, this was such an inspirational book!

[Catherine]

Thankful to have won a finished paperback copy of this title in a Bookfinity giveaway, as it was much better than I thought it would be. I appreciated the author’s candor and casual storytelling style. Generally and happily, I really felt what he was trying to convey in his scenes—excitement and joy when Tom Ford compliments his suit, panic when dressing the LA news personality, etc. The writing flowed well and put me in the moment. I liked, too, how the author reflected on larger challenges, such as running away from loss, and how it was a detrimental trend that persisted well into his later life. A solid memoir that I’d recommend to others!

[Reader]

Covet the Comeback is a book that will stay with you long after the last page, reminding you of the beauty and fragility of life. A touching, heartfelt story of a kid of immigrants who worked tirelessly, constantly manifesting his own destiny to achieve the American dream that his parents always knew he could. And for anyone struggling, this is a story of second chances, and never giving up on yourself no matter how dark the days may have seemed; the light is always there at the end of the tunnel.

[Patricia Brasher]

Funny, heartwarming and brutally honest, the author has written the 2025 version of the American Dream. A son of immigrants who bootstrapped their way to the middle class, Christos is faced with fulfilling their expectations while coming to grips with his sexuality and desire for fame and fortune. How he conquered his own demons while finding success and love is inspirational.

[Kimberly Gasuras]

Excellent book by a fellow Greek entrepreneur! I highly recommend for anyone starting a business, trying to save a business, or just going through hard times. This book will uplift you and help you push through the rough spots.

[James McKenzie]

Would have given it 5 stars if he shared the names of the bad celebrity experiences he had in the music industry. I enjoyed reading his memoir. Similar vibes to RuPaul's, destined for greatness, knew from a child they were different etc

[James And]

Ok