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Willy Chavarria’s presence at Paris Fashion Week Men’s continues to grow. He debuted last year for Fall/Winter 2025. Since then, his shows have only gotten larger and more impactful with high level production, musical performances, hundreds of looks, and the introduction of new brand collabs and categories. This season, he put on a huge theatrical show at Dojo de Paris where he wanted to explore the power of love and the human interactivity he sees on New York City streets from his apartment windows.
“I didn’t initially plan to have this giant show,” Chavarria told us a few days before the event in New York. “As I was working on it, I felt like the best way for me to have the impact in this moment in time is to do something really powerful and positive feeling that shows brown people and queer people, and people who believe in humanity and human rights in a giant format that resonates globally. I really feel like with the music and the story, it’s the best way to do that.”
It was a meaningful display of Chavarria’s perspective, although sometimes the clothes felt overshadowed. But does it really matter?
Check out our grades for Louis Vuitton Fall/Winter 2026 here, Dior Fall/Winter 2026 here, Nahmias Fall/Winter 2026 here, and an interview with Jaden Smith about his Christian Louboutin debut here.
Chavarria has developed an aesthetic heavily inspired by his Mexican American upbringing in Fresno, California. It consists mostly of workwear staples and silhouettes worn by Cholos, Pachucos, and Chicanos at large. This season’s offering felt more refined with slimmer fits, taking inspiration from the ‘60s. Models wore cropped jeans and leather pants styled with loafers and white socks, chore shirts worn over sweatshirts and crisp collared tops, and track suits with sophisticated overcoats.
The Adidas portion of the show included official World Cup merchandise that drew from Mexican football uniforms. A Big Willy section featured a new line of affordably-priced hoodies, bombers, and chinos. The last section was for special occasions with double breasted suits, relaxed tuxedos, and trousers featuring a rose motif.
Chavarria managed to design a range of pieces that suit different occasions and demographics without losing his core sensibilities.
Chavarria is clearly looking to expand commercially with accessories. He introduced more bags, which he launched last season. Inline footwear is new this season. For men, he previewed a Salon Loafer, which references a Cuban-heel loafer from the 1970s, and a slim boot with a Cuban heel. The Adidas sneakers included the Megaride Copa, the Megaride Bones, as well as the Predator football cleat.
Music was central to the show, as Chavarria aimed to merge the music and fashion industries together in a new way.
“I’ve always believed that I am the designer that will bridge the music industry and the fashion industry and capture that moment where the two intersect. They overlap in lots of instances, but nobody’s captured that moment where they both are one,” said Chavarria. “I love this idea of music being a part of fashion and them existing together. So in this show, I really want to bridge the two and have the music tell the story.”
The story opened with Chilean-Mexican singer-songwriter Mon Laferte, who was followed by Puerto Rican singer and songwriter Lunay, rapper Lil Mr. E, Latin boy band Santos Bravos, and Colombian star Feid. It was a display of how diverse and expansive Latin music is. Chavarria did bridge a gap, but pulling back on some other elements of the production, which sometimes felt like they were competing with each other, could have helped.
Held in the Dojo de Paris, the set was modeled after a New York City street. The stage included little vignettes like a phone booth, a men’s and women’s bedroom, white street lines, and an old white Cadillac with a vintage NYC license plate. Chavarria and team created an old, specific world, but it still felt modern.
Yes, there were celebrity sightings like Usher, Thundercat, Davido, Camilla Araujo, Arlo Parks, and more. But the 400 fans of fashion who attended a watch party hosted by content creator Lyas, who surprised them with an actual invite to the show, were the biggest highlight.
Read the full article here
