A custom Willy Chavarria low rider on Avenue George V in Paris.
A typical Los Angeles style low rider rolling up on Avenue George V in Paris’ 8th Arrondissement is a rare sight indeed, but precisely the scene at Willy Chavarria‘s 10th-anniversary show, entitled “Tarantula” during Paris Men’s Fashion Week, marking a first for the veteran designer whose eponymous brand has made a splash on the American fashion market. Notably, the label proves it has the ingredients to become a global brand like Tommy Hilfiger or Ralph Lauren.
While rooted in tropes of the Chicano aesthetic—intrinsic to Chavarria, who was raised in California by a Mexican father from a farm worker family and an Irish American mother also from the region—Chavarria elevates his wares with fine tailoring and luxe textiles.
The opening look for the Autumn Winter 2025 Willy chavarria show.
For his Paris outing, Chavarria chose a church, a popular location for his themes and collections. Raised Catholic, the designer told Forbes.com that he decided upon the Episcopalian church after hearing Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde and her now infamous sermon directed at President Trump while he attended the service. “I was excited and inspired by the bishop’s speech at the inauguration service, and I think we all should recognize that message and enforce it,” he said backstage pre-show.
Singer Dorian Wood opened the show with a song performed at the church’s narthex adorned with lush red flora, fauna, and candlelight as the runway backdrop. He was followed by J. Balvin, who walked and performed during the show, Becky G, Indya Moore, Tokischa, and Jerry Lorenzo, among other guest models, along with house members Paloma Elsesser, Chino Salazar, Chachi Maserati, and Yuji Rico to name a few.
The designer is slowly expanding his predominantly menswear collection, which has always had a unisex element, to include more and more female forms and style-driven silhouettes. Playing upon the aspects of the Gothic Revival location, Chavarria leaned heavily into an idea of Neo-Baroque, and the collection featured a 17th-century Baroque color palette—read bright jewel tones that were manifested as crushed Velvet suits such as the unisex Chuco suit. The show also played upon the chiaroscuro technique of light and dark, exploring opposing or contradictory themes such as “tough and tender; American and European. ‘Tarantula’ expresses bold chiaroscuro that depicts the beauty of existence, resistance, and persistence,” according to the show notes.
J Balvin walks the Autumn Winter 2025 Willy Chanvarria show and later performed on the runway.
The City of Lights also slightly influenced the collection with looks best described as Parisian lady chic. To wit, trans model Indya Moore in a prim and tidy black tailored dress or another model in a navy windowpane check fitted shirt and pencil skirt with a 40s vibe. Men wore another French style staple, boucle wool collarless jackets with four flap pockets adorned with gold buttons. “The collection is pure Willy Chavarria, loyal to what it always is, but there are little whispers and French kisses to Paris. Some are light pecks on the cheek, and some are deep tongue kisses,” Chavarria quipped in the pre-show interview.
The collection also featured his second collaboration with Adidas. This time, it channeled a 90s hip-hop vibe and featured combat boot-inspired sneakers, oversized leather bombers, and sport silhouettes. The day following the show, the designer hosted a meet and greet at an Adidas Paris location.
Becky G walks the runway at the Autumn Winter 2025 Willy Chavarria show in Paris.
Upcycling efforts included styles sourced on eBay from the designer’s archive to create new looks. The AW 2025 unisex ‘Chuco’ suit will be sold exclusively on the platform until February 2, with 100 percent of proceeds benefitting the Wildfire Recovery Fund. A capsule with Return to Vendor was made with reclaimed fishing nets.
His shows have long been a platform for Chavarria to champion causes he cares most about. In a sense, he channeled the current US plight of immigrants and migrants through the name of the show Tarantula, also a song from the 1980s indie avant-garde music collective This Mortal Coil. Chavarria explained the song, much like the much-maligned arachnid misunderstood by others. “It’s a song about a soft and beautiful creature doing its own thing on the planet, minding its business, and we villainize it. We make it a monster, but it is quite gentle. Until it is messed with, then it bites.”
The designer WIlly Chavarria and his models on the runway of the Autumn Winter 2025 runway show
Chavarria has previously aligned with the ACLU, hosting a panel discussion with the organization and selling co-branded merchandise to raise money for funding its multiple lawsuits protecting discriminated Americans. As the collection in Paris took on a bigger, global stage this time, the designer teamed up with the Human Rights Campaign for tees and sweatshirts featuring artwork from Gustavo Garcia-Villa, “celebrating the intimacy and love between all people’ according to Chavarria, supported by Tinder, whose proceeds will benefit that organization.
