Willy Chavarria is an American fashion designer born in

Fresno, California Fresno () is a major city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley region. It covers about and had a population of 542,107 in 2020, makin ...

. He is the founder of his eponymous label (stylized as WILLY CHAVARRIA), and is the current Senior Vice President of Design at

Calvin Klein Calvin Richard Klein (born November 19, 1942) is an American fashion designer who launched the company that would later become Calvin Klein Inc., in 1968. In addition to clothing, he also has given his name to a range of perfumes, watches, and ...

Early life and education

Chavarria was born to an Irish-American mother and a Mexican-American father in July, 1967. In his early 20's he attended the

Academy of Art University The Academy of Art University (AAU or ART U), formerly Academy of Art College and Richard Stephens Academy of Art, is a private for-profit art school in San Francisco, California. It was founded as the Academy of Advertising Art by Richard S. S ...

in San Francisco to pursue a degree in graphics design. During his time in school, he found part-time employment for

Joe Boxer Joe Boxer (also known as Box-oh-Joes or BJ) is an American brand of underwear and related apparel founded by Nicholas Graham that focuses on novelty hanging underwear. In April 2001, the Joe Boxer brand, which was facing bankruptcy, was sold t ...

working in the shipping department.

Career

Early beginnings

During his employment at the Joe Boxer shipping department, Chavarria would spend time after hours to work on sketches and designs. This work secured him an internship with Nicholas Graham at Joe Boxer, and develops into a designer role for the company. After taking an interest in athletics and personal training, he takes a designer role for Voler, a cycling and multi-sport apparel company. At this time

Ralph Lauren Ralph Lauren, ( ; ; born October 14, 1939) is an American fashion designer, philanthropist, and billionaire businessman, best known for the Ralph Lauren Corporation, a global multibillion-dollar enterprise. He has become well known for his co ...

was forming a

diffusion line A diffusion line (also known as a bridge line) is a secondary line of merchandise created by a high-end fashion house or fashion designer that retails at lower prices. These ranges are separate from a fashion house's "signature line", or principal ...

for cycling apparel named RLX, and through a collaboration with Voler, Chavarria was hired to work on this new line in 1999.

Palmer Trading Company

In November 2010, Chavarria and David Ramirez opened Palmer Trading Company as co-owners in New York City. The menswear store carried both vintage goods and contemporary pieces that complimented it's Americana aesthetic. The store's in-house label was also sold to retailers globally including Journal Standard Relume,

Steven Alan Steven Alan (born ''Steven Alan Grossman'') is an American fashion designer from New York City. His eponymous brand has stores in New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco and is sold online. History Opening his first New York City retail store and ...

, and

Opening Ceremony An opening ceremony, grand opening, or ribbon-cutting ceremony marks the official opening of a newly-constructed location or the start of an event.

. In 2015, the store collaborated with footwear manufacturer Viberg on an ankle height derby boot.

Willy Chavarria (eponymous label)

He launched his eponymous label in 2015, and “from his casting to his designs, Mexican American designer Willy Chavarria has always knitted politics into fashion, and fought to see beauty where it is rarely recognized.” Since, his collection has been stocked at prestigious retailers worldwide, including

Barneys Barneys New York Inc. is an American luxury brand founded in New York City in 1923. It has introduced major designers including Armani, Azzedine Alaïa, Comme des Garçons, Christian Louboutin, and Ermenegildo Zegna to the US market. Barneys N ...

Dover Street Market Dover Street Market is a multi-brand retailer originally located on Dover Street, in Mayfair, London. It has stores in New York City, Tokyo, Singapore, Beijing and Los Angeles. Dover Street Market was created by Rei Kawakubo of Japanese fashion ...

, Browns, and many more. Chavarria became known for his distinct interpretation of men's fashion mixing race, politics, sexuality into graceful and elegant apparel. He was one of the first New York designers to cast only models of color and used his shows for political expression. In 2016 he showed his Spring/Summer collection at the Eagle Bar in New York City juxtaposed with religion, lowrider and leather bar influences.

Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prize () is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine, online journalism, literature, and musical composition within the United States. It was established in 1917 by provisions in the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made h ...

-winning journalist

Robin Givhan Robin Givhan (born September 11, 1964) is an American fashion editor and Pulitzer Prize winning writer. Givhan was a fashion editor for ''The Washington Post''. She joined the ''Post'' in 1995, and left in 2010 to become the fashion critic and fas ...

noted that Willy "produces some of the most socially engaging runway shows in New York." Willy also gained the attention of

Vogue Vogue may refer to: Business * ''Vogue'' (magazine), a US fashion magazine ** British ''Vogue'', a British fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Arabia'', an Arab fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Australia'', an Australian fashion magazine ** ''Vogue China'', ...

, with Nick Remsen noting that "Chavarria is a smart, worldly creative who knows how to be all-inclusive while still carving out his own distinct M.O." For his Spring/Summer 2019 Collection, Chavarria collaborated with sportswear brand Hummel. This collection references late 1990's/2000's streetwear seen in New York City through skyline graphics, inspiration from brands like Ralph Lauren and Calvin Klein, and inverted American flag prints. His work for this season would be featured at the

Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...

exhibition titled, "In America: A Lexicon of Fashion." Chavarria's Fall 2020 collection features sustainable materials on the runway by collaborating with textile manufacturer Recyctex to reuse discarded fabric waste in his garments. The Spring 2022 runway collection highlights Chavarria's signature oversized sillouhuettes, subversive takes on masculinity, and roots in

Chicano Chicano or Chicana is a chosen identity for many Mexican Americans in the United States. The label ''Chicano'' is sometimes used interchangeably with ''Mexican American'', although the terms have different meanings. While Mexican-American ident ...

subculture. He stated, "I wanted it to feel like

couture Couture may refer to: People * Couture (surname) Places Belgium * Couture-Saint-Germain, a village in the municipality of Lasne, Belgium Canada * Couture crater and Lac Couture, an impact crater and the lake that covers it in Quebec, Canada ...

, to feel regal... and then to shift that against the toughness of New York." The collection also highlights an effort to utilize a made-to-order business model for higher end garments at the label to reduce fashion waste.

Awards and nominations

* Woolmark Prize, Finalist, 2019. * National Award for Fashion Design, Winner, 2022. * Cooper Hewitt National Design Award, Winner, 2022. * CDFA American Menswear Designer of the Year, Winner, 2023; Nominated, 2019.

Notable works

* Creative consultant for

Yeezy Gap Yeezy Gap (stylized as YEEZY GAP) was a fashion collaboration between Kanye West's Yeezy and American clothing company Gap announced in June 2020, with its first wave of clothing releasing a year later in June 2021. In January 2022 the brand ...

. * Collaboration with Danish brand Hummel in 2018. * Collaboration with Danish workwear brand KANSAS in 2019. * "Falling Stars" sweater, 2019 *

K-Swiss K-Swiss, Inc. is an American athletic shoe brand based in Downtown Los Angeles and currently owned by Xtep. History K-Swiss was founded in 1966 in Los Angeles by Swiss brothers, Art and Ernie Brunner. They became interested in tennis after emigra ...

collaborative footwear, 2020. *

Dickies Williamson-Dickie Mfg. Co. is an apparel manufacturing company primarily known for its largest brand, Dickies. The company was founded in Fort Worth, Texas, in 1922 by C. N. Williamson and E. E. "Colonel" Dickie, who began a denim bib overall co ...

collaboration for Willy Chavarria Fall 2022 menswear show "UNCUT".

Personal life

Chavarria is openly gay.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chavarria, Willy American fashion designers American artists of Mexican descent American gay artists Living people 1967 births LGBT fashion designers LGBT people from California