Willy Chavarria has just been selected as a finalist for the ANDAM Prize, a French fashion competition offering investment and mentorship to upcoming designers.
To enter the contest, candidates must be willing to show their next collection in France and have part of their supply chain or operations based (or moved) there. The other creatives vying for the Grand Prize of €300,000 and the Special Prize of €100,000 are Alain Paul, Egonlab, Zomer (Dutch duo - Danial Aitouganov and Imruh Asha) and Meryll Rogge. In its 36th year, past winners include Martin Margiela, Bianca Saunders, Marine Serre, and Y/Project.
In an interview with Business of Fashion back in 2023, Andam’s founder Nathalie Dufour said that the contest’s best applicants are often designers whose vision extends beyond fashion to include commentary on culture, representation and diversity, sustainability, or craftsmanship. So it tracks that Chavarria made the cut: his shows are often inherently political, critiquing the oppression of marginalized communities in modern America. “As a fashion business owner, it’s like half art, half business – so I focus on 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,” Chavaria told us in an interview earlier this year. Chavarria’s parents are of Mexican and Irish descent, and he grew up amid a working-class community of immigrant farmers in California. Basically, Chavarria is political af, and pretty much the furthest someone can be from a fashion nepo baby.
The 2025 ANDAM Fashion Award ceremony will be held on June 20 at 7 pm CEST.
Featured image via Culted©
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