Willy Chavarria is a New York-based brand with roots in Southern California. Deeply influenced by Chicano culture, the brand has served as a global representation of the Hispanic and queer community. A part of his own identity, Willy Chavarria pulls inspiration from this unique intersection to produce thought-provoking collections, campaigns, and fashion shows that evoke pride and a drive for change.

ACTIVISM THROUGH PRODUCTION

Chavarria was one of the first New York designers to cast only models of color, often recruited from the streets rather than traditional agencies. His distinct casting represents the duality of Indigenous, Afro-Latino, and Mestizo communities. This intentional diversity is an effort to create a different perspective of the men we are used to seeing in our everyday life such as blue-collar workers. Alongside models, Chavarria utilizes the runway as a catalyst for conversation regarding the current political climate. His "América" collection celebrated immigrant pride as a joyful act of resistance, while "Eterno" featured Southern California culture such as lowriders and performances by the band Latin Mafia. With each collection holding cultural significance, Chavarria creates unforgettable declarations of resistance and activism through clothes.

THE CHICANO SILHOUETTE 

The Chicano influence is embedded deep into Chavarria's design DNA. The signature baggy trouser featured throughout seasons comes directly from Pachuco counterculture of the late 1930s and 1940s, an aesthetic born from zoot suit culture that represented rebellion and community for marginalized Latino youth. "Cholos created the baggy pant," Chavarria insists, demanding the industry "give credit to the source" rather than erasing its Chicano origins through cultural appropriation. His oversized garments and lowrider-inspired silhouettes pay homage to "the people who really built the country" - farm workers, hotel staff, construction laborers - elevating their everyday workwear uniforms into sculptural, high-fashion pieces. He pulls from multiple Latino design eras (1920s-1990s), celebrating Chicano style "as it is and not through the lens of outsiders."

ELEVATING THE EVERYDAY

Growing up mixed-race in California's San Joaquin Valley among Mexican immigrants, Chavarria was "always very aware of the politics behind race" and transformed that awareness into fashion as a form of resistance. His work builds a mosaic of Chicano/Chicana life through workwear silhouettes inspired by farm laborers, baggy trousers rooted in Pachuco counterculture, and lowrider aesthetics. Chavarria elevates the mundane into cultural monuments. By pulling these laborers "out of the background" through both his garment designs and runway productions that cast only models of color recruited from the streets, he creates what he calls "an act of visual revolution". Chavarria redefines whose stories deserve to be told on the runway, transforming everyday Chicano pride into high fashion.

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