“I first met Willy when he showed at NYFW (New York Fashion Week): Men’s,” wrote CFDA (Council of Fashion Designers of America) President and CEO, Steven Kolb via e-mail. “His show was at the legendary gay bar The Eagle. It was one of the most unique venues. Willy is unique,” he added. The show Kolb is referring to is Willy Chavarria’s controversial Spring/Summer 2018 collection, modeled after the psycho-sexual eighties thriller, Cruising, in which New York City detective, Steven Burns (Al Pacino), goes undercover as a gay S&M enthusiast to catch a sadistic serial killer preying on gay men. It was lauded by the fashion community but ill-received by his own. Fortunately, his audience has “broadened” since then, Chavarria said. And industry kingmakers like Kolb continue to sing the designers praises, “There’s more to clothing in what he does. There’s meaning and message and community.”
A community that begins in casting, “I really like to capture the realness in my work by including the people who inspire me with their own attitude or presence,” said Chavarria of his unorthodox casting methods.
Chavarria uses a Chicano cocktail of models and friends which he uses for shows and campaigns. A method used to categorize the designer by some as more streetwear than luxury. But not surprisingly Chavarria cares as much for labels as he does for bigotry. “Willy works outside the regular fashion circuit. He has created his own circuit of talent that avoids the shallowness we find in so much of the fashion world,” said creative assistant, Zenar Kraige Tobias. “He has mentored me. He has enabled me to believe in myself and be proud of my Brownness.” And Willy can find community just about anywhere. “He cruised me in a nightclub in New Orleans,” said Karlo Steel. Steel is now a consultant and style director for the brand.
Growing up in the working-class town of Huron in Fresno County, California, Chavarria did not have such a community. “Since childhood, I have always been an outsider. I grew up in a conservative small town before the internet was invented,” said the designer. “I spent my years being the kid in the cafeteria that ate alone. But I developed a very tough skin and a strong identity.”
An identity that is rooted in self-awareness and social justice reform. Something many industry leaders struggle to understand or implement into their ethos, especially now. “While I do believe that fashion is both a reflection of the world it lives in and a means of inspiration to think, feel and behave differently, I think there is more to having cultural influence than messages in marketing. It is our business infrastructure that must have an impact on society. We can chip away at the system from the top down, or we can change the system from the bottom up,” said Chavarria. And by now, you guessed it, Willy Chavarria always puts his money where his mouth is. From sponsoring undocumented New York City soccer players to creating uniforms for Lurigancho Prison inmates in Peru. “When I created the brand in 2016, my team and I agreed that our brand strategy would be to promote human dignity,” said Chavarria. “The more we grow, the more we are able to give back. I’ve never wanted my work to be entirely exclusive. I truly want all people to feel great in my clothing,” he said.
