There are two commonly accepted ideas about New York Fashion Week: this fashion week is losing ground to its competitors and, among the designers loyal to it, Willy Chavarría has been, for several seasons, the most popular show, the one that leaves its mark. The next one will take place on September 6, for the presentation of the spring-summer 2025 collections.
At the most recent, held in a candlelit Brooklyn warehouse in February, the female and male models were mostly black or Latino. They shared sportswear and eveningwear, couture and underwear. The fantasy of proportions evoked the 1980s of Claude Montana, the rigor of the tailoring was inspired by the Mexican formal suits of the 1930s, while the abundance of vintage English tweed further blurred the references.
Sensitive virility, elegant streetwear, singular normality: Willy Chavarría’s delicate wardrobe has the power to resolve many contradictions. No doubt thanks to the stylistic maturity of this 57-year-old designer. Born to an Irish-American mother and a Mexican-American father, he grew up in an immigrant community in rural California. Graduated in graphic design from the Academy of Art at the University of San Francisco, he ventured into fashion, first working for an underwear brand. In the early 2000s, he was hired by Ralph Lauren and then made a career at Calvin Klein, which he left in 2024 to devote himself fully to the brand that bears his name and that he owns with his husband.
Launched in 2015, it is still small in size and relies on online commerce, but it has already earned Willy Chavarría the title of “menswear designer of the year” awarded in 2023 by the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA). This award has rarely been given to people of Latin American origin, who are still rarely present in the industry. Meet the one who aims to fix that.
How would you describe your brand?
Its aim is to celebrate those who wear it, to make them feel good. Someone who buys a T-shirt will appreciate its cut, its colour, its fabric, but will also feel included in a larger project. Whether through fashion shows, Instagram posts or photographs in magazines, the brand is there to make a fair voice heard, a message of equality.
How do your clothes convey this mood?
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