Willy Chavarria’s got big plans, and Paris is first on the list. After that, dressing Rick Owens, heading up Gucci, and world domination… or something like that. We linked up with the Mexican-American (aka self-described “Chicano” - reclaiming the word that’s been used to oppress his people) designer who’s swapped the Big Apple for the Seine this season, to find out what we can expect from the new, global era of his brand. Here’s what went down.
In case you didn’t see the hype around his last fashion week, Willy Chavarria is the designer that’s been shaking up the New York fashion calendar with his pioneering approach to inclusivity and bold discussions of social issues on the runway ever since he founded his eponymous label in 2015. And let’s just say he hasn’t been the CFDA’s American Menswear Designer of the Year two years in a row for no reason.
Despite having been in the fashion game for almost four decades, with a CV spanning some major American brands including Calvin Klein and Ralph Lauren, FW25 will be Willy Chavarria’s first time showing outside of the US, and it marks a huge step for his brand.
The buzz was undeniable when we hit up Willy’s Paris-based studio to shoot him and his new collection just two days ahead of his show - the first time a Latinx designer has shown in Paris. When we asked him how was feeling, he said “I mean, it’s a lot, putting on a show in Paris, it’s a lot of everything. Right now we’re just in the thick of trying to make it happen, but excited. Very excited.” (As he should.)
Linking up with Willy in Paris, we found out who he sees repping the new collection, asked him where he’d most want to design next, and got him to open up about the future of his brand. Here’s what went down.
We already know your collections tend to take on a political angle - so, what’s the message behind FW25?
I think the general message will be one of the protection of our civil rights. You know, it’s so obvious, but what we’re seeing in the United States right now - the plan of the new administration to pull back on people, on rights that preserve the livelihoods of women, of immigrants, of people of colour, LGBTQ people, the right to education, the right to read. [But] while it’s normally a very US-focused message I deliver, now it’s time for us to think more globally, which is one reason I want to show in Paris.
We love how your collections champion your heritage as a LATAM designer. In your career have you experienced many hurdles as a result of your background? How have you overcome them?
I mean, especially in the United States there is very very institutionalized racism against Latino people, especially Mexican people, so it’s something that I’ve dealt with my entire career. But it’s just actually been kind of a catalyst to drive me to work harder to prove people wrong.
You’ve spoken about not just designing clothes but “making characters” in your collections before. Can you describe the characters at FW25?
This season, I want to take some real people that we already have familiarity with and utilise their presence in the world as a focus on positivity. And then also, I do want to share the immigrant story again, so we’ll see the same immigrant characters from a more global perspective.
What’s your favourite piece from the FW25 collection?
There’s so many good pieces. We have some dresses that I really like that are very tailored - they’re not very revealing, like they don’t show a lot of skin, but they’re very tailored so they’re very flattering to the figure.
If you could style anyone in the FW25 collection, who would it be?
Probably Rick Owens. I think he would look great in it. I love the way he dresses now, and of course he has amazing style, but I would love to see him in WILLY CHAVARRIA.
Past seasons you’ve had Beyoncé on the FROW and Diego Nájera on the runway, but can we expect to see any celebs make a cameo at FW25?
There will be some… but I can’t reveal the names yet. But you know, I have to say, I don’t ever cast celebrities just because they’re celebrities - it’s always somebody who has a connection to the brand or is a friend because I like it to feel very much like a family when I put on a show.
We all know the fashion world’s playing a game of musical chairs with its CDs rn, and I read that you told Vogue you’d love to work for a European brand. So if you had to take a seat somewhere, where would it be?
I mean, honestly, I see myself at Givenchy, Gucci, or Versace Men’s. Those are the ones that seem like the easiest to connect with.
You said in an interview last year that you feel like we're all in a state of trauma right now. What do you do to help deal with that?
I talk to other people about it, and I try to focus my art - because, you know, as a fashion business owner it’s like half art, half business - so I focus the art part to be as powerful as possible in being a voice for human decency - human dignity. I feel like the more we come together to resist the cultural oppressions, the better we feel.
Your work is famously driven by politics, openly highlighting issues at home and around the world. Could you ever see yourself dropping a collection without any political discourse?
Yes, of course. I think that ultimately the message of my work is love - love is always to be celebrated. So I think that as long as there’s love in the world, we will have purpose, and I will have purpose.
People sometimes react negatively to being confronted with politics in fashion: they think that they should be kept separate. What would you say to the people that believe that?
There’s so much divisiveness right now that it’s very difficult to find a middle ground, so I hope that my work can touch everybody. I'm not just trying to touch the people that maybe are already on the right side of history. I’m hoping to touch those people that are maybe uneducated or uninformed or misinformed, so I think that sometimes it’s not about talking to someone about beliefs but showing them emotionally through art or music or fashion how we feel.
You’ve probably been hearing about the public’s attitudes around the recent case of the UnitedHealthcare CEO shooter, which has kicked off convos about class consciousness and a rise in anti-capitalist discourse in the US. Considering these are things you’ve been openly talking about for some time, how do you feel about the conversation being sparked on a bigger scale by this event?
I think it’s scary because there has been so much corruption - you know, we see it being so overtly corrupt, very massively and very quickly right now in American corporations, especially the healthcare system, that it’s inevitable that at some point people are gonna lose their sh*t and start to get violent. So it’s scary to see the dawning of that.
What’s the “American Dream” in 2025?
Right now the American Dream is simply to preserve our rights as humans, and to be able to afford to live a decent life.
We know you’ve been behind some GOATed American brands, like Calvin Klein and Ralph Lauren in the past, but starting your own fashion brand gives you so much more freedom to really design and say what you want. Do you think you’d give that up to one of the legendary fashion houses?
You know, I actually don’t see it as a sacrifice, because I feel that anytime I’ve worked for a large company I’ve had a positive influence within the structure of the company. I feel like just my presence alone is a significant reinforcement of positive social change when I work for a company, and I’ve always made significant effort to bring in more diverse talent. It’s interesting because there are large companies that are now approaching me with the question: “how do we communicate with modern culture?” I think that’s something that all large companies are looking to do right now, and they’re looking to me, and maybe other smaller brands who are more agile and more able to take risks and can really tap into what the general feeling of the world is or the consumer market is.
Earlier this year you said you’d love to drop an affordable line, saying that you “absolutely believe that this is the time for it.” What would that look like? Is it something we can expect to see soon?
Yes, for sure. I’m going to have special capsules for direct-to-consumer only, that will be small, exciting capsules or collaborations that will drop throughout the year. And then actually, during Paris Fashion Week, we will be dropping one of those capsules with Dover Street Market in Paris on the 26th of Jan. That collaboration is called “Latino Fan Club” and my favourite piece from that collection is the calendar that we’re releasing, which [stars] some of the favourite Willy boys in the new Willy underwear that we’re dropping in January.
Last season, you linked up with adidas on a collaboration in the second half of your collection. What was that like, and can we expect any brand collabs at FW25?
We’re continuing the adidas relationship, so we’ll have another collaboration this season. Last season was more focused around Kareem Abdul Jabbar [who walked]; this season is more around the creation of these [new] characters who are warriors for social justice.
What’s a piece of advice you’d give to creatives who haven't made it yet?
Honestly, just to stay steadfast with your own vision, and to remember that you really cannot work too hard.
What can we expect from you in the rest of 2025, following the FW25 show?
A full throttled expression of as much creation as possible, whether through film, through product, through fashion, through music. As much as possible. I wanna do as much as I possibly can.
Featured image via Culted©
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