User:Owen Gunderman/Willy Chavarria

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Willy Chavarria is a Mexican American fashion designer, creative director, and entrepreneur based in New York City.

Early life and Education

Willy Chavarria was Born in Fresno, California in 1967

He studied art and graphic design at The Art Academy of San Francisco

Career

After school Chavarria began working in the shipping warehouse at Joe Boxer. He was later promoted to the design department.

After working for Joe boxer and gaining credibility as a designer he moved on to design for Ralph Lauren, working on a new clothing line focused on performance sportswear.

He later opened his own shop called Palmer Trading Company, a popular Men's retail clothing store in New York City which specialized in apparel and footwear. The store's in-house label was also sold to retailers globally including Journal Standard Relume, Steven Alan, and Opening Ceremony.

Brand

Chavarria launched his label in 2015 under his own name: Willy Chavarria. His clothing has been stocked at high end fashion retailers worldwide, including Barneys, Dover Street Market, Browns, and many more. Chavarria has become known for his distinct interpretation of men's fashion mixing race, politics, and his own identity into his garments. He was one of the first New York designers to cast only models of color and used his shows for political expression. Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Robin Givhan noted that Willy "produces some of the most socially engaging runway shows in New York" such as his 2016 Spring/Summer collection at the Eagle Bar in New York City where he juxtaposed ideas of catholicism with lowrider and leather bar influences.

Influence / recognition

In 2018, Willy was announced as a finalist for the International Woolmark Prize, a prestigious award for garment based innovation.

His work has been featured in a Jay-Z video, and worn by celebrities like Lady Gaga, Kevin Durant, Casey Spooner, Lewis Hamilton, and Eddie Huang, and Kanye West.

Chavarria has been known for incorporating Chicano influences into his silhouettes and styling for which he gives credit to his own ethnicity and cultural upbringing. He has used his own platform as a designer to celebrate Latino influence in fashion.

“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.” (papermag)

Chavarria currently lives in New York City and Copenhagen. His brand headquarters are in Greenpoint, Brooklyn.