Willy Chavarria on music and being the Mexican Ralph Lauren

Willy Chavarria had just six weeks to organize his biggest show yet.

In January 2026, in lieu of a traditional runway presentation, the designer chose to put on something closer to a musical for his fall 2026 menswear collection in Paris. Roughly 2,000 guests attended the 30-minute showcase at the Dojo de Paris, reimagined as a Manhattan crosswalk. Over 100 looks were tied to three acts: faith, hope, and wisdom. Models were deployed in sleek suits and elaborate gowns, then in track pants and jerseys from his Adidas collaboration, and finally, clean basics from his workwear line, Big Willy. In the midst of all the fashion, six musicians headlined with backup dancers, choreography, and bands: Chilean-Mexican singer Mon Laferte, Puerto Rican performer Lunay, Italian singer-songwriter Mahmood, Colombian singer Feid, Mexican band Latin Mafia, and Latin boy band Santos Bravos.

On a recent afternoon, calling from his office at his new Brooklyn studio, Chavarria sits in awe at how he pulled off the grand production against the looming deadline. “I don’t even know how I did it.”

Amidst a sameness that’s infiltrated high fashion over the last few years, Chavarria’s energetic shows have become an antidote. The two-time CFDA Fashion Award winner’s presence in the French capital dates back to January 2025 when he introduced himself as fashion’s newest man of spectacle. His debut show, “Tarantula,” opened with a cherry red, Los Angeles-style low rider rolling up on Avenue George V in Paris' 8th arrondissement in an elaborate homage to Chicano fashion and culture. His sophomore collection featured a line of men in non-descript white tees, kneeling on the runway in a row as a commentary on immigrants detained by ICE in the U.S. Still an independent designer, the two-time CFDA Fashion Award winner is now on a mission to find a way to merge music and fashion on an even bigger scale than done before, and placing a specific focus on Latin music.

“[My vision for the show] initially started out small, but then it got bigger and bigger. I wanted to do a banger that blew everyone else out of the water,” he says of his January showcase. Without a top-dollar budget like that of luxury fashion houses, Chavarria knew music would be the way to bring his last-minute spectacle to life; he’d already tested the formula at his spring 2025 New York show, where Mexican icon Juan Gabriel and sierreño trio Yahritza y Su Esencia serenaded the crowd while models charged down the runway.

“I listened to their music and put together a story using their tracks,” Chavarria says. He worked alongside production company Iconoclast and Madonna’s choreographer Damien Jalet to bring his ideas to life. “The show was a musical expression. It was like producing a show and a musical with musicians.”

Chavarria’s affinity for music began in his rural hometown of Huron, California. Born to an Irish-American mother and Mexican-American father, the designer grew up listening to his family’s favorite old-school Mexican bands: Los Panchos and Los Tigres del Norte were always on repeat. At the time, a record store in Fresno was his only access to music, even as the internet and music channels like MTV became mainstream. “You couldn’t listen to any underground genres, like new wave [or] death rock,” he recalls.

His palate evolved after making a life-changing move to San Francisco to attend the Academy of Art University. He was only 17 years old when he went full throttle into house music through the city’s nightclub scene. Among the artists he discovered throughout the late ‘80s and into the ’90s were the Dead Kennedys, The Sisters of Mercy, Hazel O'Connor, Human League, Heaven 17, and Duran Duran. “Clubs were like amusement parks back then, and it’s also where I discovered fashion,” Chavarria says of that period, fondly. “I came from a very small and conservative community. And all of a sudden, [life] was colorful, and everyone was wearing what they wanted to the extreme. Everything changed for me when I discovered house — that has been my go-to choice since. My entire creative journey has been guided by music.”

As an openly out, gay Latino man, Chavarria understands the power of his platform and what it means during the current fraught time for immigrants and any other marginalized communities in the U.S. While not every one of his fashion productions have been explicitly political so far, Chavarria says he vets his collaborators thoroughly, making sure they align with his values on human rights and immigration reform.

“Music and fashion are industries where a lot of people don’t want to take any risk because they’re afraid of how it’s going to affect their livelihood,” he says, adding that he has musician friends who “don’t want to speak out openly about what’s happening with the U.S. government or ICE.”

“The ones that I collaborate with publicly — like Kendrick Lamar at the 2025 Super Bowl, and Maluma — they’re all taking a stand in their own way and doing something that is empowering to people,” he adds. “The connection of values speaks volumes because everyone knows what I stand for. People know what I’m putting down, and they’re either going to pick it up or not.”

Right now, Chavarria is focused on how he can expand his vision with the goal of hosting benefit concerts. “I would love to be the David Gilmour of the next musical concert movement,” he says. And it doesn’t stop there. As Chavarria’s spotlight continues to grow, he wants to turn his brand into a “creative collective,” with the scope to not only make clothes and shows, but also music, film, and fundraisers.

“You have to cut through the noise with a knife,” he says. “I want to blow the big brands out of the water and make a statement, like here’s this Mexican-American designer who’s standing up for people that never get this spotlight and he’s going to be the best thing in Paris. I want to go big. I want to be the Mexican Ralph Lauren.”