WILLY CHAVARRIA SPRING/SUMMER 25: WELCOME TO AMERICA
words by HANNAH ATIRA
On the heels of a crucial election, Willy Chavarria of Willy Chavarria New York presents his American story, the real America, “a celebration of the enduring legacy of a nation built on dreams, resilience, and limitless possibility” for his Spring Summer 25 collection.
Entitled, Welcome to ‘America’ Willy Chavarria’s SS 25 collection examines the duality and dichotomy of what and who makes America function as a country and how their hard work is reflected through attire. Uniforms, which have played a consistent role in the Willy Chavarria brand, take further shape this season, deriving from the workwear of the blue-collar Americans, that Chavarria himself witnessed growing up. In catching a moment with the one to watch this fashion week, Chavarria went into detail sharing further the source of his workwear inspiration for this season. “I've always found an elegance in people's uniforms, and how we all have our uniforms that we put on every day. Just looking at the people who work the jobs that make the country run, I’m so very much inspired by everyone from the farm workers, to my family, or the hotel worker, the Citibank worker, just looking at the way people dress when they go to work.”
This season such inspiration notably appeared in attention to detail, from the embroidered, Willy Chavarria Fashion Services name tags to utilitarian flap pockets to a recurring black leather belt with an attached key ring and a necktie tucked neatly underneath. While in other workwear silhouettes an amalgamation of utility and beauty reflected itself in Carharrt-esque iterations of fitted canvas jackets with leg of mutton sleeves, touching on the duality that is not only America but Chavarria himself.
As a connoisseur of cultural attire from nearly every generation, this season's tailoring, which the brand has come to develop more prominently, touched on a nostalgic understanding of distinctive craftsmanship for the day-to-day, “I've looked a lot to like the 60s and 70s United farm workers movement and the Civil Rights Movement. During that time there was this, high-waisted, very dapper way to wear workwear. You know, uniforms were just more dressed up, more tailored, so I take a lot of that, and I mix it in with, modern-day workwear along with the 80s where men would wear a lot of baggy silhouettes.” The essence of a dapper workwear, one both light in feeling and movement but crisp in cut and detail could be felt through a series of monochrome dress shirts and ties with sharply pointed collars, pleated billowy dress pants, and Chavarria’s Allen Edmond shoe collaboration, tying it all together. While dramatized silhouettes of knee-length plaid button-downs, ankle-length shorts, and capaciously large shoulder bags in denim, leather, and suede, honed in on the brand's signature oversized aesthetic.
Known to take risks and keep showgoers on their toes, this season Chavarria took the cake with a surprise collaboration with Adidas making its debut down the runway as a part two of his SS 25 collection. Unable to disclose in the moments leading up to the runway, Chavrria later shared his excitement for the collaboration, “I am thrilled to be part of such an iconic brand.” The partnership, one in development for a while through a budding relationship between the two brands, speaks to the active community that Chavarria continues to build and uphold, “In the process of creating the collection, I actually became friends with Cesar Chavez’ grandson! (The friendship) basically derived from thinking about the United Farm Workers and their impact on the labor unions and civil rights. So I reached out to him just to speak to him and we became friends; he's helped me out and put me in touch with the United Farm Workers Union. It's been really cool, that idea of people being able to come together and create change for the future is something that's It's very inspiring to me and to this collection”
It is quite apparent that Chavarria’s American narrative is one being listened to, as the announcement of the Adidas collaboration marks yet another intuitive alignment coming off the heels of a recent collaboration with Don Julio 70 Anejo for a limited edition bottle. With SS25 Chavarria yet again manages to captivate his audience by painting a fully fleshed fashion narrative that not only showcases an incredible attention to detail, nuance, and craftmanship but a commitment to continuing to push the boundaries on how worlds of fashion, community, politics and more all collide.
