WILLY CHAVARRIA
The designer whose street-smart tailoring speaks volumes
TEXT BY CHRIS STEWART
PHOTOGRAPHY BY ERIC McARTHUR
Willy Chavarria’s namesake label has been a staple on the New York Fashion Week men’s calendar for the last five years, coming into the fore at the end of the 2010s, part of a cohort of American brands defined by street-smart conceptual styling. Chavarria’s traditional menswear is infused with lowrider culture and 90s logomania. It’s all personal for the designer, who was born in California and grew up there in the 1980s. His early exposure to a plethora of cultures is apparent in each collection. His casting, too, plays a central role to his brand’s identity. Each season is carefully street-casted, and Chavarria’s models enhance his designs with a particular masculinity that is unnervingly sexy.
Today, Chavarria lives in Denmark with his partner. “It is much easier to see the dysfunction of our own family after we leave home,” he wrote to me over email. I asked him if living abroad offered any clarity on America. “I am Chicano,” he wrote, insinuating duality had long been a recurring theme in his life. Mexican-American influences resonate in his designs with his signature tailoring — wide-legs, wide shoulders, wide-lapels — paying direct homage to the zoot suit, a street style after which a series of riots in 1943 Los Angeles was named. In June of that year, mobs of white off-duty servicemen attacked Mexican and Latino youth sporting the wide-legged trend, alleging that because of the amount of fabric it required and war-time rationing, it was unpatriotic. Later, the zoot suit, popular predominantly amongst men of color, was outlawed by white authorities.
“My Spring 2022 collection absolutely takes notes from this lineage,” Chavarria explained. “The collection was very pure because I drew from my own upbringing, my family, and my most personal fashion influences.” If earlier collections hinted at autobiography, his recent collection abandoned the soft-touch approach. “I think my last show may have exhausted every man I sketched during my childhood!” he revealed. “That collection had neighbors, uncles, cousins, you name it! I always return to the classics as a starting point: The clean white T-shirt and baggy wide-leg pants are my true loves.”
Chavarria will bring his talents to Calvin Klein next. As the brand’s new creative director, the designer assumes the responsibility “to hold true to my own personal cultural influence and not assimilate to what the industry claims I need to.” After all, he is one of the few Latin Americans appointed to a top creative position at a global megabrand. “I am here to have an impact and make people think and feel. That is what has propelled me this far. And this is only the beginning.”
Models Chachi, Christian, Elliott, Joel and Viktor wear looks from the Willy Chavarria Fall 2021 and Spring 2022 Menswear Collections.
Styling by Braulio González
Images 16-18 Styling by Willy Chavarria
Hair by Satesh Chaitoo for BEST BARBER
Set Design and Casting by Abi Benitez
Willy Chavarria’s namesake label has been a staple on the New York Fashion Week men’s calendar for the last five years, coming into the fore at the end of the 2010s, part of a cohort of American brands defined by street-smart conceptual styling. Chavarria’s traditional menswear is infused with lowrider culture and 90s logomania. It’s all personal for the designer, who was born in California and grew up there in the 1980s. His early exposure to a plethora of cultures is apparent in each collection. His casting, too, plays a central role to his brand’s identity. Each season is carefully street-casted, and Chavarria’s models enhance his designs with a particular masculinity that is unnervingly sexy.
Today, Chavarria lives in Denmark with his partner. “It is much easier to see the dysfunction of our own family after we leave home,” he wrote to me over email. I asked him if living abroad offered any clarity on America. “I am Chicano,” he wrote, insinuating duality had long been a recurring theme in his life. Mexican-American influences resonate in his designs with his signature tailoring — wide-legs, wide shoulders, wide-lapels — paying direct homage to the zoot suit, a street style after which a series of riots in 1943 Los Angeles was named. In June of that year, mobs of white off-duty servicemen attacked Mexican and Latino youth sporting the wide-legged trend, alleging that because of the amount of fabric it required and war-time rationing, it was unpatriotic. Later, the zoot suit, popular predominantly amongst men of color, was outlawed by white authorities.
“My Spring 2022 collection absolutely takes notes from this lineage,” Chavarria explained. “The collection was very pure because I drew from my own upbringing, my family, and my most personal fashion influences.” If earlier collections hinted at autobiography, his recent collection abandoned the soft-touch approach. “I think my last show may have exhausted every man I sketched during my childhood!” he revealed. “That collection had neighbors, uncles, cousins, you name it! I always return to the classics as a starting point: The clean white T-shirt and baggy wide-leg pants are my true loves.”
Chavarria will bring his talents to Calvin Klein next. As the brand’s new creative director, the designer assumes the responsibility “to hold true to my own personal cultural influence and not assimilate to what the industry claims I need to.” After all, he is one of the few Latin Americans appointed to a top creative position at a global megabrand. “I am here to have an impact and make people think and feel. That is what has propelled me this far. And this is only the beginning.”
Models Chachi, Christian, Elliott, Joel and Viktor wear looks from the Willy Chavarria Fall 2021 and Spring 2022 Menswear Collections.
Styling by Braulio González
Images 16-18 Styling by Willy Chavarria
Hair by Satesh Chaitoo for BEST BARBER
Set Design and Casting by Abi Benitez
Willy Chavarria’s namesake label has been a staple on the New York Fashion Week men’s calendar for the last five years, coming into the fore at the end of the 2010s, part of a cohort of American brands defined by street-smart conceptual styling. Chavarria’s traditional menswear is infused with lowrider culture and 90s logomania. It’s all personal for the designer, who was born in California and grew up there in the 1980s. His early exposure to a plethora of cultures is apparent in each collection. His casting, too, plays a central role to his brand’s identity. Each season is carefully street-casted, and Chavarria’s models enhance his designs with a particular masculinity that is unnervingly sexy.
Today, Chavarria lives in Denmark with his partner. “It is much easier to see the dysfunction of our own family after we leave home,” he wrote to me over email. I asked him if living abroad offered any clarity on America. “I am Chicano,” he wrote, insinuating duality had long been a recurring theme in his life. Mexican-American influences resonate in his designs with his signature tailoring — wide-legs, wide shoulders, wide-lapels — paying direct homage to the zoot suit, a street style after which a series of riots in 1943 Los Angeles was named. In June of that year, mobs of white off-duty servicemen attacked Mexican and Latino youth sporting the wide-legged trend, alleging that because of the amount of fabric it required and war-time rationing, it was unpatriotic. Later, the zoot suit, popular predominantly amongst men of color, was outlawed by white authorities.
“My Spring 2022 collection absolutely takes notes from this lineage,” Chavarria explained. “The collection was very pure because I drew from my own upbringing, my family, and my most personal fashion influences.” If earlier collections hinted at autobiography, his recent collection abandoned the soft-touch approach. “I think my last show may have exhausted every man I sketched during my childhood!” he revealed. “That collection had neighbors, uncles, cousins, you name it! I always return to the classics as a starting point: The clean white T-shirt and baggy wide-leg pants are my true loves.”
Chavarria will bring his talents to Calvin Klein next. As the brand’s new creative director, the designer assumes the responsibility “to hold true to my own personal cultural influence and not assimilate to what the industry claims I need to.” After all, he is one of the few Latin Americans appointed to a top creative position at a global megabrand. “I am here to have an impact and make people think and feel. That is what has propelled me this far. And this is only the beginning.”
Models Chachi, Christian, Elliott, Joel and Viktor wear looks from the Willy Chavarria Fall 2021 and Spring 2022 Menswear Collections.
Styling by Braulio González
Images 16-18 Styling by Willy Chavarria
Hair by Satesh Chaitoo for BEST BARBER
Set Design and Casting by Abi Benitez
Willy Chavarria’s namesake label has been a staple on the New York Fashion Week men’s calendar for the last five years, coming into the fore at the end of the 2010s, part of a cohort of American brands defined by street-smart conceptual styling. Chavarria’s traditional menswear is infused with lowrider culture and 90s logomania. It’s all personal for the designer, who was born in California and grew up there in the 1980s. His early exposure to a plethora of cultures is apparent in each collection. His casting, too, plays a central role to his brand’s identity. Each season is carefully street-casted, and Chavarria’s models enhance his designs with a particular masculinity that is unnervingly sexy.
Today, Chavarria lives in Denmark with his partner. “It is much easier to see the dysfunction of our own family after we leave home,” he wrote to me over email. I asked him if living abroad offered any clarity on America. “I am Chicano,” he wrote, insinuating duality had long been a recurring theme in his life. Mexican-American influences resonate in his designs with his signature tailoring — wide-legs, wide shoulders, wide-lapels — paying direct homage to the zoot suit, a street style after which a series of riots in 1943 Los Angeles was named. In June of that year, mobs of white off-duty servicemen attacked Mexican and Latino youth sporting the wide-legged trend, alleging that because of the amount of fabric it required and war-time rationing, it was unpatriotic. Later, the zoot suit, popular predominantly amongst men of color, was outlawed by white authorities.
“My Spring 2022 collection absolutely takes notes from this lineage,” Chavarria explained. “The collection was very pure because I drew from my own upbringing, my family, and my most personal fashion influences.” If earlier collections hinted at autobiography, his recent collection abandoned the soft-touch approach. “I think my last show may have exhausted every man I sketched during my childhood!” he revealed. “That collection had neighbors, uncles, cousins, you name it! I always return to the classics as a starting point: The clean white T-shirt and baggy wide-leg pants are my true loves.”
Chavarria will bring his talents to Calvin Klein next. As the brand’s new creative director, the designer assumes the responsibility “to hold true to my own personal cultural influence and not assimilate to what the industry claims I need to.” After all, he is one of the few Latin Americans appointed to a top creative position at a global megabrand. “I am here to have an impact and make people think and feel. That is what has propelled me this far. And this is only the beginning.”
Models Chachi, Christian, Elliott, Joel and Viktor wear looks from the Willy Chavarria Fall 2021 and Spring 2022 Menswear Collections.
Styling by Braulio González
Images 16-18 Styling by Willy Chavarria
Hair by Satesh Chaitoo for BEST BARBER
Set Design and Casting by Abi Benitez
Willy Chavarria’s namesake label has been a staple on the New York Fashion Week men’s calendar for the last five years, coming into the fore at the end of the 2010s, part of a cohort of American brands defined by street-smart conceptual styling. Chavarria’s traditional menswear is infused with lowrider culture and 90s logomania. It’s all personal for the designer, who was born in California and grew up there in the 1980s. His early exposure to a plethora of cultures is apparent in each collection. His casting, too, plays a central role to his brand’s identity. Each season is carefully street-casted, and Chavarria’s models enhance his designs with a particular masculinity that is unnervingly sexy.
Today, Chavarria lives in Denmark with his partner. “It is much easier to see the dysfunction of our own family after we leave home,” he wrote to me over email. I asked him if living abroad offered any clarity on America. “I am Chicano,” he wrote, insinuating duality had long been a recurring theme in his life. Mexican-American influences resonate in his designs with his signature tailoring — wide-legs, wide shoulders, wide-lapels — paying direct homage to the zoot suit, a street style after which a series of riots in 1943 Los Angeles was named. In June of that year, mobs of white off-duty servicemen attacked Mexican and Latino youth sporting the wide-legged trend, alleging that because of the amount of fabric it required and war-time rationing, it was unpatriotic. Later, the zoot suit, popular predominantly amongst men of color, was outlawed by white authorities.
“My Spring 2022 collection absolutely takes notes from this lineage,” Chavarria explained. “The collection was very pure because I drew from my own upbringing, my family, and my most personal fashion influences.” If earlier collections hinted at autobiography, his recent collection abandoned the soft-touch approach. “I think my last show may have exhausted every man I sketched during my childhood!” he revealed. “That collection had neighbors, uncles, cousins, you name it! I always return to the classics as a starting point: The clean white T-shirt and baggy wide-leg pants are my true loves.”
Chavarria will bring his talents to Calvin Klein next. As the brand’s new creative director, the designer assumes the responsibility “to hold true to my own personal cultural influence and not assimilate to what the industry claims I need to.” After all, he is one of the few Latin Americans appointed to a top creative position at a global megabrand. “I am here to have an impact and make people think and feel. That is what has propelled me this far. And this is only the beginning.”
Models Chachi, Christian, Elliott, Joel and Viktor wear looks from the Willy Chavarria Fall 2021 and Spring 2022 Menswear Collections.
Styling by Braulio González
Images 16-18 Styling by Willy Chavarria
Hair by Satesh Chaitoo for BEST BARBER
Set Design and Casting by Abi Benitez
Willy Chavarria’s namesake label has been a staple on the New York Fashion Week men’s calendar for the last five years, coming into the fore at the end of the 2010s, part of a cohort of American brands defined by street-smart conceptual styling. Chavarria’s traditional menswear is infused with lowrider culture and 90s logomania. It’s all personal for the designer, who was born in California and grew up there in the 1980s. His early exposure to a plethora of cultures is apparent in each collection. His casting, too, plays a central role to his brand’s identity. Each season is carefully street-casted, and Chavarria’s models enhance his designs with a particular masculinity that is unnervingly sexy.
Today, Chavarria lives in Denmark with his partner. “It is much easier to see the dysfunction of our own family after we leave home,” he wrote to me over email. I asked him if living abroad offered any clarity on America. “I am Chicano,” he wrote, insinuating duality had long been a recurring theme in his life. Mexican-American influences resonate in his designs with his signature tailoring — wide-legs, wide shoulders, wide-lapels — paying direct homage to the zoot suit, a street style after which a series of riots in 1943 Los Angeles was named. In June of that year, mobs of white off-duty servicemen attacked Mexican and Latino youth sporting the wide-legged trend, alleging that because of the amount of fabric it required and war-time rationing, it was unpatriotic. Later, the zoot suit, popular predominantly amongst men of color, was outlawed by white authorities.
“My Spring 2022 collection absolutely takes notes from this lineage,” Chavarria explained. “The collection was very pure because I drew from my own upbringing, my family, and my most personal fashion influences.” If earlier collections hinted at autobiography, his recent collection abandoned the soft-touch approach. “I think my last show may have exhausted every man I sketched during my childhood!” he revealed. “That collection had neighbors, uncles, cousins, you name it! I always return to the classics as a starting point: The clean white T-shirt and baggy wide-leg pants are my true loves.”
Chavarria will bring his talents to Calvin Klein next. As the brand’s new creative director, the designer assumes the responsibility “to hold true to my own personal cultural influence and not assimilate to what the industry claims I need to.” After all, he is one of the few Latin Americans appointed to a top creative position at a global megabrand. “I am here to have an impact and make people think and feel. That is what has propelled me this far. And this is only the beginning.”
Models Chachi, Christian, Elliott, Joel and Viktor wear looks from the Willy Chavarria Fall 2021 and Spring 2022 Menswear Collections.
Styling by Braulio González
Images 16-18 Styling by Willy Chavarria
Hair by Satesh Chaitoo for BEST BARBER
Set Design and Casting by Abi Benitez
Willy Chavarria’s namesake label has been a staple on the New York Fashion Week men’s calendar for the last five years, coming into the fore at the end of the 2010s, part of a cohort of American brands defined by street-smart conceptual styling. Chavarria’s traditional menswear is infused with lowrider culture and 90s logomania. It’s all personal for the designer, who was born in California and grew up there in the 1980s. His early exposure to a plethora of cultures is apparent in each collection. His casting, too, plays a central role to his brand’s identity. Each season is carefully street-casted, and Chavarria’s models enhance his designs with a particular masculinity that is unnervingly sexy.
Today, Chavarria lives in Denmark with his partner. “It is much easier to see the dysfunction of our own family after we leave home,” he wrote to me over email. I asked him if living abroad offered any clarity on America. “I am Chicano,” he wrote, insinuating duality had long been a recurring theme in his life. Mexican-American influences resonate in his designs with his signature tailoring — wide-legs, wide shoulders, wide-lapels — paying direct homage to the zoot suit, a street style after which a series of riots in 1943 Los Angeles was named. In June of that year, mobs of white off-duty servicemen attacked Mexican and Latino youth sporting the wide-legged trend, alleging that because of the amount of fabric it required and war-time rationing, it was unpatriotic. Later, the zoot suit, popular predominantly amongst men of color, was outlawed by white authorities.
“My Spring 2022 collection absolutely takes notes from this lineage,” Chavarria explained. “The collection was very pure because I drew from my own upbringing, my family, and my most personal fashion influences.” If earlier collections hinted at autobiography, his recent collection abandoned the soft-touch approach. “I think my last show may have exhausted every man I sketched during my childhood!” he revealed. “That collection had neighbors, uncles, cousins, you name it! I always return to the classics as a starting point: The clean white T-shirt and baggy wide-leg pants are my true loves.”
Chavarria will bring his talents to Calvin Klein next. As the brand’s new creative director, the designer assumes the responsibility “to hold true to my own personal cultural influence and not assimilate to what the industry claims I need to.” After all, he is one of the few Latin Americans appointed to a top creative position at a global megabrand. “I am here to have an impact and make people think and feel. That is what has propelled me this far. And this is only the beginning.”
Models Chachi, Christian, Elliott, Joel and Viktor wear looks from the Willy Chavarria Fall 2021 and Spring 2022 Menswear Collections.
Styling by Braulio González
Images 16-18 Styling by Willy Chavarria
Hair by Satesh Chaitoo for BEST BARBER
Set Design and Casting by Abi Benitez
Willy Chavarria’s namesake label has been a staple on the New York Fashion Week men’s calendar for the last five years, coming into the fore at the end of the 2010s, part of a cohort of American brands defined by street-smart conceptual styling. Chavarria’s traditional menswear is infused with lowrider culture and 90s logomania. It’s all personal for the designer, who was born in California and grew up there in the 1980s. His early exposure to a plethora of cultures is apparent in each collection. His casting, too, plays a central role to his brand’s identity. Each season is carefully street-casted, and Chavarria’s models enhance his designs with a particular masculinity that is unnervingly sexy.
Today, Chavarria lives in Denmark with his partner. “It is much easier to see the dysfunction of our own family after we leave home,” he wrote to me over email. I asked him if living abroad offered any clarity on America. “I am Chicano,” he wrote, insinuating duality had long been a recurring theme in his life. Mexican-American influences resonate in his designs with his signature tailoring — wide-legs, wide shoulders, wide-lapels — paying direct homage to the zoot suit, a street style after which a series of riots in 1943 Los Angeles was named. In June of that year, mobs of white off-duty servicemen attacked Mexican and Latino youth sporting the wide-legged trend, alleging that because of the amount of fabric it required and war-time rationing, it was unpatriotic. Later, the zoot suit, popular predominantly amongst men of color, was outlawed by white authorities.
“My Spring 2022 collection absolutely takes notes from this lineage,” Chavarria explained. “The collection was very pure because I drew from my own upbringing, my family, and my most personal fashion influences.” If earlier collections hinted at autobiography, his recent collection abandoned the soft-touch approach. “I think my last show may have exhausted every man I sketched during my childhood!” he revealed. “That collection had neighbors, uncles, cousins, you name it! I always return to the classics as a starting point: The clean white T-shirt and baggy wide-leg pants are my true loves.”
Chavarria will bring his talents to Calvin Klein next. As the brand’s new creative director, the designer assumes the responsibility “to hold true to my own personal cultural influence and not assimilate to what the industry claims I need to.” After all, he is one of the few Latin Americans appointed to a top creative position at a global megabrand. “I am here to have an impact and make people think and feel. That is what has propelled me this far. And this is only the beginning.”
Models Chachi, Christian, Elliott, Joel and Viktor wear looks from the Willy Chavarria Fall 2021 and Spring 2022 Menswear Collections.
Styling by Braulio González
Images 16-18 Styling by Willy Chavarria
Hair by Satesh Chaitoo for BEST BARBER
Set Design and Casting by Abi Benitez
Willy Chavarria’s namesake label has been a staple on the New York Fashion Week men’s calendar for the last five years, coming into the fore at the end of the 2010s, part of a cohort of American brands defined by street-smart conceptual styling. Chavarria’s traditional menswear is infused with lowrider culture and 90s logomania. It’s all personal for the designer, who was born in California and grew up there in the 1980s. His early exposure to a plethora of cultures is apparent in each collection. His casting, too, plays a central role to his brand’s identity. Each season is carefully street-casted, and Chavarria’s models enhance his designs with a particular masculinity that is unnervingly sexy.
Today, Chavarria lives in Denmark with his partner. “It is much easier to see the dysfunction of our own family after we leave home,” he wrote to me over email. I asked him if living abroad offered any clarity on America. “I am Chicano,” he wrote, insinuating duality had long been a recurring theme in his life. Mexican-American influences resonate in his designs with his signature tailoring — wide-legs, wide shoulders, wide-lapels — paying direct homage to the zoot suit, a street style after which a series of riots in 1943 Los Angeles was named. In June of that year, mobs of white off-duty servicemen attacked Mexican and Latino youth sporting the wide-legged trend, alleging that because of the amount of fabric it required and war-time rationing, it was unpatriotic. Later, the zoot suit, popular predominantly amongst men of color, was outlawed by white authorities.
“My Spring 2022 collection absolutely takes notes from this lineage,” Chavarria explained. “The collection was very pure because I drew from my own upbringing, my family, and my most personal fashion influences.” If earlier collections hinted at autobiography, his recent collection abandoned the soft-touch approach. “I think my last show may have exhausted every man I sketched during my childhood!” he revealed. “That collection had neighbors, uncles, cousins, you name it! I always return to the classics as a starting point: The clean white T-shirt and baggy wide-leg pants are my true loves.”
Chavarria will bring his talents to Calvin Klein next. As the brand’s new creative director, the designer assumes the responsibility “to hold true to my own personal cultural influence and not assimilate to what the industry claims I need to.” After all, he is one of the few Latin Americans appointed to a top creative position at a global megabrand. “I am here to have an impact and make people think and feel. That is what has propelled me this far. And this is only the beginning.”
Models Chachi, Christian, Elliott, Joel and Viktor wear looks from the Willy Chavarria Fall 2021 and Spring 2022 Menswear Collections.
Styling by Braulio González
Images 16-18 Styling by Willy Chavarria
Hair by Satesh Chaitoo for BEST BARBER
Set Design and Casting by Abi Benitez
Willy Chavarria’s namesake label has been a staple on the New York Fashion Week men’s calendar for the last five years, coming into the fore at the end of the 2010s, part of a cohort of American brands defined by street-smart conceptual styling. Chavarria’s traditional menswear is infused with lowrider culture and 90s logomania. It’s all personal for the designer, who was born in California and grew up there in the 1980s. His early exposure to a plethora of cultures is apparent in each collection. His casting, too, plays a central role to his brand’s identity. Each season is carefully street-casted, and Chavarria’s models enhance his designs with a particular masculinity that is unnervingly sexy.
Today, Chavarria lives in Denmark with his partner. “It is much easier to see the dysfunction of our own family after we leave home,” he wrote to me over email. I asked him if living abroad offered any clarity on America. “I am Chicano,” he wrote, insinuating duality had long been a recurring theme in his life. Mexican-American influences resonate in his designs with his signature tailoring — wide-legs, wide shoulders, wide-lapels — paying direct homage to the zoot suit, a street style after which a series of riots in 1943 Los Angeles was named. In June of that year, mobs of white off-duty servicemen attacked Mexican and Latino youth sporting the wide-legged trend, alleging that because of the amount of fabric it required and war-time rationing, it was unpatriotic. Later, the zoot suit, popular predominantly amongst men of color, was outlawed by white authorities.
“My Spring 2022 collection absolutely takes notes from this lineage,” Chavarria explained. “The collection was very pure because I drew from my own upbringing, my family, and my most personal fashion influences.” If earlier collections hinted at autobiography, his recent collection abandoned the soft-touch approach. “I think my last show may have exhausted every man I sketched during my childhood!” he revealed. “That collection had neighbors, uncles, cousins, you name it! I always return to the classics as a starting point: The clean white T-shirt and baggy wide-leg pants are my true loves.”
Chavarria will bring his talents to Calvin Klein next. As the brand’s new creative director, the designer assumes the responsibility “to hold true to my own personal cultural influence and not assimilate to what the industry claims I need to.” After all, he is one of the few Latin Americans appointed to a top creative position at a global megabrand. “I am here to have an impact and make people think and feel. That is what has propelled me this far. And this is only the beginning.”
Models Chachi, Christian, Elliott, Joel and Viktor wear looks from the Willy Chavarria Fall 2021 and Spring 2022 Menswear Collections.
Styling by Braulio González
Images 16-18 Styling by Willy Chavarria
Hair by Satesh Chaitoo for BEST BARBER
Set Design and Casting by Abi Benitez
Willy Chavarria’s namesake label has been a staple on the New York Fashion Week men’s calendar for the last five years, coming into the fore at the end of the 2010s, part of a cohort of American brands defined by street-smart conceptual styling. Chavarria’s traditional menswear is infused with lowrider culture and 90s logomania. It’s all personal for the designer, who was born in California and grew up there in the 1980s. His early exposure to a plethora of cultures is apparent in each collection. His casting, too, plays a central role to his brand’s identity. Each season is carefully street-casted, and Chavarria’s models enhance his designs with a particular masculinity that is unnervingly sexy.
Today, Chavarria lives in Denmark with his partner. “It is much easier to see the dysfunction of our own family after we leave home,” he wrote to me over email. I asked him if living abroad offered any clarity on America. “I am Chicano,” he wrote, insinuating duality had long been a recurring theme in his life. Mexican-American influences resonate in his designs with his signature tailoring — wide-legs, wide shoulders, wide-lapels — paying direct homage to the zoot suit, a street style after which a series of riots in 1943 Los Angeles was named. In June of that year, mobs of white off-duty servicemen attacked Mexican and Latino youth sporting the wide-legged trend, alleging that because of the amount of fabric it required and war-time rationing, it was unpatriotic. Later, the zoot suit, popular predominantly amongst men of color, was outlawed by white authorities.
“My Spring 2022 collection absolutely takes notes from this lineage,” Chavarria explained. “The collection was very pure because I drew from my own upbringing, my family, and my most personal fashion influences.” If earlier collections hinted at autobiography, his recent collection abandoned the soft-touch approach. “I think my last show may have exhausted every man I sketched during my childhood!” he revealed. “That collection had neighbors, uncles, cousins, you name it! I always return to the classics as a starting point: The clean white T-shirt and baggy wide-leg pants are my true loves.”
Chavarria will bring his talents to Calvin Klein next. As the brand’s new creative director, the designer assumes the responsibility “to hold true to my own personal cultural influence and not assimilate to what the industry claims I need to.” After all, he is one of the few Latin Americans appointed to a top creative position at a global megabrand. “I am here to have an impact and make people think and feel. That is what has propelled me this far. And this is only the beginning.”
Models Chachi, Christian, Elliott, Joel and Viktor wear looks from the Willy Chavarria Fall 2021 and Spring 2022 Menswear Collections.
Styling by Braulio González
Images 16-18 Styling by Willy Chavarria
Hair by Satesh Chaitoo for BEST BARBER
Set Design and Casting by Abi Benitez
Willy Chavarria’s namesake label has been a staple on the New York Fashion Week men’s calendar for the last five years, coming into the fore at the end of the 2010s, part of a cohort of American brands defined by street-smart conceptual styling. Chavarria’s traditional menswear is infused with lowrider culture and 90s logomania. It’s all personal for the designer, who was born in California and grew up there in the 1980s. His early exposure to a plethora of cultures is apparent in each collection. His casting, too, plays a central role to his brand’s identity. Each season is carefully street-casted, and Chavarria’s models enhance his designs with a particular masculinity that is unnervingly sexy.
Today, Chavarria lives in Denmark with his partner. “It is much easier to see the dysfunction of our own family after we leave home,” he wrote to me over email. I asked him if living abroad offered any clarity on America. “I am Chicano,” he wrote, insinuating duality had long been a recurring theme in his life. Mexican-American influences resonate in his designs with his signature tailoring — wide-legs, wide shoulders, wide-lapels — paying direct homage to the zoot suit, a street style after which a series of riots in 1943 Los Angeles was named. In June of that year, mobs of white off-duty servicemen attacked Mexican and Latino youth sporting the wide-legged trend, alleging that because of the amount of fabric it required and war-time rationing, it was unpatriotic. Later, the zoot suit, popular predominantly amongst men of color, was outlawed by white authorities.
“My Spring 2022 collection absolutely takes notes from this lineage,” Chavarria explained. “The collection was very pure because I drew from my own upbringing, my family, and my most personal fashion influences.” If earlier collections hinted at autobiography, his recent collection abandoned the soft-touch approach. “I think my last show may have exhausted every man I sketched during my childhood!” he revealed. “That collection had neighbors, uncles, cousins, you name it! I always return to the classics as a starting point: The clean white T-shirt and baggy wide-leg pants are my true loves.”
Chavarria will bring his talents to Calvin Klein next. As the brand’s new creative director, the designer assumes the responsibility “to hold true to my own personal cultural influence and not assimilate to what the industry claims I need to.” After all, he is one of the few Latin Americans appointed to a top creative position at a global megabrand. “I am here to have an impact and make people think and feel. That is what has propelled me this far. And this is only the beginning.”
Models Chachi, Christian, Elliott, Joel and Viktor wear looks from the Willy Chavarria Fall 2021 and Spring 2022 Menswear Collections.
Styling by Braulio González
Images 16-18 Styling by Willy Chavarria
Hair by Satesh Chaitoo for BEST BARBER
Set Design and Casting by Abi Benitez
Willy Chavarria’s namesake label has been a staple on the New York Fashion Week men’s calendar for the last five years, coming into the fore at the end of the 2010s, part of a cohort of American brands defined by street-smart conceptual styling. Chavarria’s traditional menswear is infused with lowrider culture and 90s logomania. It’s all personal for the designer, who was born in California and grew up there in the 1980s. His early exposure to a plethora of cultures is apparent in each collection. His casting, too, plays a central role to his brand’s identity. Each season is carefully street-casted, and Chavarria’s models enhance his designs with a particular masculinity that is unnervingly sexy.
Today, Chavarria lives in Denmark with his partner. “It is much easier to see the dysfunction of our own family after we leave home,” he wrote to me over email. I asked him if living abroad offered any clarity on America. “I am Chicano,” he wrote, insinuating duality had long been a recurring theme in his life. Mexican-American influences resonate in his designs with his signature tailoring — wide-legs, wide shoulders, wide-lapels — paying direct homage to the zoot suit, a street style after which a series of riots in 1943 Los Angeles was named. In June of that year, mobs of white off-duty servicemen attacked Mexican and Latino youth sporting the wide-legged trend, alleging that because of the amount of fabric it required and war-time rationing, it was unpatriotic. Later, the zoot suit, popular predominantly amongst men of color, was outlawed by white authorities.
“My Spring 2022 collection absolutely takes notes from this lineage,” Chavarria explained. “The collection was very pure because I drew from my own upbringing, my family, and my most personal fashion influences.” If earlier collections hinted at autobiography, his recent collection abandoned the soft-touch approach. “I think my last show may have exhausted every man I sketched during my childhood!” he revealed. “That collection had neighbors, uncles, cousins, you name it! I always return to the classics as a starting point: The clean white T-shirt and baggy wide-leg pants are my true loves.”
Chavarria will bring his talents to Calvin Klein next. As the brand’s new creative director, the designer assumes the responsibility “to hold true to my own personal cultural influence and not assimilate to what the industry claims I need to.” After all, he is one of the few Latin Americans appointed to a top creative position at a global megabrand. “I am here to have an impact and make people think and feel. That is what has propelled me this far. And this is only the beginning.”
Models Chachi, Christian, Elliott, Joel and Viktor wear looks from the Willy Chavarria Fall 2021 and Spring 2022 Menswear Collections.
Styling by Braulio González
Images 16-18 Styling by Willy Chavarria
Hair by Satesh Chaitoo for BEST BARBER
Set Design and Casting by Abi Benitez
Willy Chavarria’s namesake label has been a staple on the New York Fashion Week men’s calendar for the last five years, coming into the fore at the end of the 2010s, part of a cohort of American brands defined by street-smart conceptual styling. Chavarria’s traditional menswear is infused with lowrider culture and 90s logomania. It’s all personal for the designer, who was born in California and grew up there in the 1980s. His early exposure to a plethora of cultures is apparent in each collection. His casting, too, plays a central role to his brand’s identity. Each season is carefully street-casted, and Chavarria’s models enhance his designs with a particular masculinity that is unnervingly sexy.
Today, Chavarria lives in Denmark with his partner. “It is much easier to see the dysfunction of our own family after we leave home,” he wrote to me over email. I asked him if living abroad offered any clarity on America. “I am Chicano,” he wrote, insinuating duality had long been a recurring theme in his life. Mexican-American influences resonate in his designs with his signature tailoring — wide-legs, wide shoulders, wide-lapels — paying direct homage to the zoot suit, a street style after which a series of riots in 1943 Los Angeles was named. In June of that year, mobs of white off-duty servicemen attacked Mexican and Latino youth sporting the wide-legged trend, alleging that because of the amount of fabric it required and war-time rationing, it was unpatriotic. Later, the zoot suit, popular predominantly amongst men of color, was outlawed by white authorities.
“My Spring 2022 collection absolutely takes notes from this lineage,” Chavarria explained. “The collection was very pure because I drew from my own upbringing, my family, and my most personal fashion influences.” If earlier collections hinted at autobiography, his recent collection abandoned the soft-touch approach. “I think my last show may have exhausted every man I sketched during my childhood!” he revealed. “That collection had neighbors, uncles, cousins, you name it! I always return to the classics as a starting point: The clean white T-shirt and baggy wide-leg pants are my true loves.”
Chavarria will bring his talents to Calvin Klein next. As the brand’s new creative director, the designer assumes the responsibility “to hold true to my own personal cultural influence and not assimilate to what the industry claims I need to.” After all, he is one of the few Latin Americans appointed to a top creative position at a global megabrand. “I am here to have an impact and make people think and feel. That is what has propelled me this far. And this is only the beginning.”
Models Chachi, Christian, Elliott, Joel and Viktor wear looks from the Willy Chavarria Fall 2021 and Spring 2022 Menswear Collections.
Styling by Braulio González
Images 16-18 Styling by Willy Chavarria
Hair by Satesh Chaitoo for BEST BARBER
Set Design and Casting by Abi Benitez
Willy Chavarria’s namesake label has been a staple on the New York Fashion Week men’s calendar for the last five years, coming into the fore at the end of the 2010s, part of a cohort of American brands defined by street-smart conceptual styling. Chavarria’s traditional menswear is infused with lowrider culture and 90s logomania. It’s all personal for the designer, who was born in California and grew up there in the 1980s. His early exposure to a plethora of cultures is apparent in each collection. His casting, too, plays a central role to his brand’s identity. Each season is carefully street-casted, and Chavarria’s models enhance his designs with a particular masculinity that is unnervingly sexy.
Today, Chavarria lives in Denmark with his partner. “It is much easier to see the dysfunction of our own family after we leave home,” he wrote to me over email. I asked him if living abroad offered any clarity on America. “I am Chicano,” he wrote, insinuating duality had long been a recurring theme in his life. Mexican-American influences resonate in his designs with his signature tailoring — wide-legs, wide shoulders, wide-lapels — paying direct homage to the zoot suit, a street style after which a series of riots in 1943 Los Angeles was named. In June of that year, mobs of white off-duty servicemen attacked Mexican and Latino youth sporting the wide-legged trend, alleging that because of the amount of fabric it required and war-time rationing, it was unpatriotic. Later, the zoot suit, popular predominantly amongst men of color, was outlawed by white authorities.
“My Spring 2022 collection absolutely takes notes from this lineage,” Chavarria explained. “The collection was very pure because I drew from my own upbringing, my family, and my most personal fashion influences.” If earlier collections hinted at autobiography, his recent collection abandoned the soft-touch approach. “I think my last show may have exhausted every man I sketched during my childhood!” he revealed. “That collection had neighbors, uncles, cousins, you name it! I always return to the classics as a starting point: The clean white T-shirt and baggy wide-leg pants are my true loves.”
Chavarria will bring his talents to Calvin Klein next. As the brand’s new creative director, the designer assumes the responsibility “to hold true to my own personal cultural influence and not assimilate to what the industry claims I need to.” After all, he is one of the few Latin Americans appointed to a top creative position at a global megabrand. “I am here to have an impact and make people think and feel. That is what has propelled me this far. And this is only the beginning.”
Models Chachi, Christian, Elliott, Joel and Viktor wear looks from the Willy Chavarria Fall 2021 and Spring 2022 Menswear Collections.
Styling by Braulio González
Images 16-18 Styling by Willy Chavarria
Hair by Satesh Chaitoo for BEST BARBER
Set Design and Casting by Abi Benitez
Willy Chavarria’s namesake label has been a staple on the New York Fashion Week men’s calendar for the last five years, coming into the fore at the end of the 2010s, part of a cohort of American brands defined by street-smart conceptual styling. Chavarria’s traditional menswear is infused with lowrider culture and 90s logomania. It’s all personal for the designer, who was born in California and grew up there in the 1980s. His early exposure to a plethora of cultures is apparent in each collection. His casting, too, plays a central role to his brand’s identity. Each season is carefully street-casted, and Chavarria’s models enhance his designs with a particular masculinity that is unnervingly sexy.
Today, Chavarria lives in Denmark with his partner. “It is much easier to see the dysfunction of our own family after we leave home,” he wrote to me over email. I asked him if living abroad offered any clarity on America. “I am Chicano,” he wrote, insinuating duality had long been a recurring theme in his life. Mexican-American influences resonate in his designs with his signature tailoring — wide-legs, wide shoulders, wide-lapels — paying direct homage to the zoot suit, a street style after which a series of riots in 1943 Los Angeles was named. In June of that year, mobs of white off-duty servicemen attacked Mexican and Latino youth sporting the wide-legged trend, alleging that because of the amount of fabric it required and war-time rationing, it was unpatriotic. Later, the zoot suit, popular predominantly amongst men of color, was outlawed by white authorities.
“My Spring 2022 collection absolutely takes notes from this lineage,” Chavarria explained. “The collection was very pure because I drew from my own upbringing, my family, and my most personal fashion influences.” If earlier collections hinted at autobiography, his recent collection abandoned the soft-touch approach. “I think my last show may have exhausted every man I sketched during my childhood!” he revealed. “That collection had neighbors, uncles, cousins, you name it! I always return to the classics as a starting point: The clean white T-shirt and baggy wide-leg pants are my true loves.”
Chavarria will bring his talents to Calvin Klein next. As the brand’s new creative director, the designer assumes the responsibility “to hold true to my own personal cultural influence and not assimilate to what the industry claims I need to.” After all, he is one of the few Latin Americans appointed to a top creative position at a global megabrand. “I am here to have an impact and make people think and feel. That is what has propelled me this far. And this is only the beginning.”
Models Chachi, Christian, Elliott, Joel and Viktor wear looks from the Willy Chavarria Fall 2021 and Spring 2022 Menswear Collections.
Styling by Braulio González
Images 16-18 Styling by Willy Chavarria
Hair by Satesh Chaitoo for BEST BARBER
Set Design and Casting by Abi Benitez
Willy Chavarria’s namesake label has been a staple on the New York Fashion Week men’s calendar for the last five years, coming into the fore at the end of the 2010s, part of a cohort of American brands defined by street-smart conceptual styling. Chavarria’s traditional menswear is infused with lowrider culture and 90s logomania. It’s all personal for the designer, who was born in California and grew up there in the 1980s. His early exposure to a plethora of cultures is apparent in each collection. His casting, too, plays a central role to his brand’s identity. Each season is carefully street-casted, and Chavarria’s models enhance his designs with a particular masculinity that is unnervingly sexy.
Today, Chavarria lives in Denmark with his partner. “It is much easier to see the dysfunction of our own family after we leave home,” he wrote to me over email. I asked him if living abroad offered any clarity on America. “I am Chicano,” he wrote, insinuating duality had long been a recurring theme in his life. Mexican-American influences resonate in his designs with his signature tailoring — wide-legs, wide shoulders, wide-lapels — paying direct homage to the zoot suit, a street style after which a series of riots in 1943 Los Angeles was named. In June of that year, mobs of white off-duty servicemen attacked Mexican and Latino youth sporting the wide-legged trend, alleging that because of the amount of fabric it required and war-time rationing, it was unpatriotic. Later, the zoot suit, popular predominantly amongst men of color, was outlawed by white authorities.
“My Spring 2022 collection absolutely takes notes from this lineage,” Chavarria explained. “The collection was very pure because I drew from my own upbringing, my family, and my most personal fashion influences.” If earlier collections hinted at autobiography, his recent collection abandoned the soft-touch approach. “I think my last show may have exhausted every man I sketched during my childhood!” he revealed. “That collection had neighbors, uncles, cousins, you name it! I always return to the classics as a starting point: The clean white T-shirt and baggy wide-leg pants are my true loves.”
Chavarria will bring his talents to Calvin Klein next. As the brand’s new creative director, the designer assumes the responsibility “to hold true to my own personal cultural influence and not assimilate to what the industry claims I need to.” After all, he is one of the few Latin Americans appointed to a top creative position at a global megabrand. “I am here to have an impact and make people think and feel. That is what has propelled me this far. And this is only the beginning.”
Models Chachi, Christian, Elliott, Joel and Viktor wear looks from the Willy Chavarria Fall 2021 and Spring 2022 Menswear Collections.
Styling by Braulio González
Images 16-18 Styling by Willy Chavarria
Hair by Satesh Chaitoo for BEST BARBER
Set Design and Casting by Abi Benitez
Willy Chavarria’s namesake label has been a staple on the New York Fashion Week men’s calendar for the last five years, coming into the fore at the end of the 2010s, part of a cohort of American brands defined by street-smart conceptual styling. Chavarria’s traditional menswear is infused with lowrider culture and 90s logomania. It’s all personal for the designer, who was born in California and grew up there in the 1980s. His early exposure to a plethora of cultures is apparent in each collection. His casting, too, plays a central role to his brand’s identity. Each season is carefully street-casted, and Chavarria’s models enhance his designs with a particular masculinity that is unnervingly sexy.
Today, Chavarria lives in Denmark with his partner. “It is much easier to see the dysfunction of our own family after we leave home,” he wrote to me over email. I asked him if living abroad offered any clarity on America. “I am Chicano,” he wrote, insinuating duality had long been a recurring theme in his life. Mexican-American influences resonate in his designs with his signature tailoring — wide-legs, wide shoulders, wide-lapels — paying direct homage to the zoot suit, a street style after which a series of riots in 1943 Los Angeles was named. In June of that year, mobs of white off-duty servicemen attacked Mexican and Latino youth sporting the wide-legged trend, alleging that because of the amount of fabric it required and war-time rationing, it was unpatriotic. Later, the zoot suit, popular predominantly amongst men of color, was outlawed by white authorities.
“My Spring 2022 collection absolutely takes notes from this lineage,” Chavarria explained. “The collection was very pure because I drew from my own upbringing, my family, and my most personal fashion influences.” If earlier collections hinted at autobiography, his recent collection abandoned the soft-touch approach. “I think my last show may have exhausted every man I sketched during my childhood!” he revealed. “That collection had neighbors, uncles, cousins, you name it! I always return to the classics as a starting point: The clean white T-shirt and baggy wide-leg pants are my true loves.”
Chavarria will bring his talents to Calvin Klein next. As the brand’s new creative director, the designer assumes the responsibility “to hold true to my own personal cultural influence and not assimilate to what the industry claims I need to.” After all, he is one of the few Latin Americans appointed to a top creative position at a global megabrand. “I am here to have an impact and make people think and feel. That is what has propelled me this far. And this is only the beginning.”
Models Chachi, Christian, Elliott, Joel and Viktor wear looks from the Willy Chavarria Fall 2021 and Spring 2022 Menswear Collections.
Styling by Braulio González
Images 16-18 Styling by Willy Chavarria
Hair by Satesh Chaitoo for BEST BARBER
Set Design and Casting by Abi Benitez
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