Willy Chavarria is not a new designer—he’s worked in the industry for decades at Ralph Lauren and now Calvin Klein—but his namesake brand, founded in 2015 and showing since 2018, has recently been getting the attention it deserves, and increasingly in the womenswear space.

Chavarria, who is showing on Wednesday, September 14th, takes inspiration from his Chicano community upbringing, merging oversized silhouettes and re-contextualizing them, blending high fashion shapes into pieces worn by street cast models for menswear that feels truly directional in a sea of understated streetwear. 

“Human connection is key,” he says of the biggest goal of his work. “The business works only when there is a connection between you, your work, and the people you touch.” 

Beyond his upcoming show, he’s also launching an NFT project, The Big Willy Love Club. “I find inspiration in the truth. The realness that isn’t tainted by social media,” he adds.