Willy Chavarria touts strong POV to fashion students during talk

Since launching his brand in 2015, Willy Chavarria has earned a reputation for putting on a thought-provoking and wildly expressive show. So, it’s no surprise that during a chat at Parsons School of Design hosted by fashion veteran (and de facto fashion fairy godmother) and Parsons board member Julie Gilhart, one guest, a fan who knows the designer’s penchant for street casting, auditioned for Willy’s next runway show there on the floor of the Tishman Auditorium. The design school will honor Chavarria at the 76th annual Parsons Benefit on May 20, 2025.

FashionNetwork.com was there to witness the discussion between the industry veterans. Based on the bevy of students who asked questions, Chavarria greatly inspired the next generation of designers, Latino and otherwise, with his brand ethos to “raise people, to make people feel good, and to celebrate human dignity as its foundation.”

“Unfortunately, many brands neglect to have a point of view in the world, which can be risky because of how divided and divisive the ideologies are, whether left or right. Most brands are afraid to lose one of those sides, so they play it safe, and then it is boring because there’s no point of view. It’s safe to say that fashion is predominantly boring,” said Chavarria, noting that his success proves that you can have a strong POV and still be successful.

That said, being provocative does have limits if you want to sell clothes. “I’m running and growing a business, and I believe you can take a position on humanity and still grow a business. At some point, I think we all have a decision in living in the world: whether we live in the city or pick up weapons and fight somewhere. There are different levels of existence, and my level of existence is doing what I do in a way that gives back the best I can,” he said when asked how far is too far. He noted that if you want to earn a living, you may have to be mindful of the more corporate voice, especially when working with brands such as Adidas and Ralph Lauren.

He also suggested something the administration might consider. “There is a corporate word, emotional maturity. But there’s an emotional maturity that I’m surprised you don’t get taught in school. It comes with how you work with others and interact, which only comes with experience. I learned that, and I’m still learning that,” he added. “I loved everything I learned in school and feel lucky for that, but I learned so much in the workforce. Those two things together will make you well-rounded and full.” The designer also remembered hearing the late Willi Smith give a talk as a student.

Chavarria is also a proponent of the traditional brand ownership/launching route: “I didn’t start my own brand until I was 47. So many people think they must start a brand right out of school to succeed. Everyone has their path, but I firmly believe in getting as much information and knowledge under your belt as possible so you have the confidence to launch your own thing. You may discover that you don’t want to do your own thing, and I wouldn’t blame anyone. There are so many facets of the industry, whether a designer, a stylist, a pattern maker, or in the digital sphere, which is so far-reaching.

“There’s nothing worse than seeing people who think they know everything trying to do it and just not working out, losing money and losing time and not having the growth that you might need to go through to be able to take failure. Although failure is not quite what I believe in, failure is a part of good and success. You got to fall and get back up,” he continued.

Staffing a team is also part of Chavarria’s oeuvre, which has a namesake label, and he gave the young crowd some hiring tips. “I look for talent; I look for integrity. I am looking for what the opposite of laziness is. I hate laziness. I look for good people. We have a pretty good studio vibe. If somebody’s an a**hole, they easily don’t last,” he noted.

The next generation may not be so tied to traditional genders, but Chavarria advises that many fashion-buying offices are. “The system is so deeply structured with gender identities that we’ve got men’s and women’s collections, men’s and women’s stores, and men’s and women’s design. It’s challenging from a large business perspective to sell things that will sell in different places. But for the most part, my collections are for whoever wants to wear them,” he said, noting he designates the collection in several groupings according to whom it is most typically designed for.

“There is diversity in my brand, staff, community, and chosen family. Whether it’s masculine, feminine, queer, or trans, the overarching theme is love. The message might be Latino, queen and Chicano and these different varieties of things, but it’s really about a bigger voice of love; I truly believe love is the global message,” he continued.

He warned the students that there will always be challenges, but with experience comes better navigation. “You learn to get better at managing them. It was always financial because I’m self-financed; I don’t come from generational wealth. I took jobs that paid well, saved money, and was financially strategic. I made many mistakes, lost money, and often did things incorrectly. Ultimately, I learned that forming relationships and building what I wanted to do with others who believed in the same vision led me to something bigger. The people that I worked with for years are still very close friends. The brand’s identity, the brand’s message, and the vibe and the aesthetic that came before the business part of it were together, and I just kept pushing that along,” he stressed.

The talk also previewed clips from two of Chavarria’s recent film slash shows, “Safe from Harm” and “Tarantula,” which was the designer’s first show in Paris (though he promised his roots are in New York).

The latter film featured a clip with a recording of Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde’s plea to Trump and his administration not to vilify or, worse, deport illegal immigrants who do the grunt work U.S. citizens don’t wish to and or to demonize the LGBTQ community, which includes family and children. “We can be courageous and still be loving and good and full of joy, but we do have to be strong. We’re seeing the world change to one that is oppressive and working just to strip us of our identities,” Chavarria cautioned.

Chavarria described his upbringing in a Mexican town and in a traditional-values Mexican American household that hung up an image of farm workers’ rights champion Cesar Chavez. As a biracial queer person, “I was already very different than this background,” he noted, adding his introverted nature, observing from the outside, helped foster his visual creativity.

“I credit my family with my commitment to my work and having a path to social justice. It was important to me to give value to those who aren’t seen as valuable; Latino people, Black people, queer people, trans people, all the people that, for centuries, have been given the bad end of the stick. I use my Latino culture, elevate it, and make it as beautiful as possible. We want to share all real beauty to see ourselves as truly beautiful as we’re starting to see ourselves in media, film, magazines, etc. We start to believe we are that and in a positive light. If all the movies about Mexicans show Mexicans as criminals or are about the cartel, we need to show ourselves how beautiful we are.”