América the Beautiful
Review of Willy Chavarria Spring 2025 Men’s Fashion Show
By Mark Wittmer
THE COLLECTION
THE VIBE
Unflinchingly Progressive, Supersized, Machismo
Spring 2025 was undoubtedly Willy Chavarria’s biggest show yet, by a lot – from the number of looks to the size of the venue to the high profile of the models to, most importantly, the depth of and importance of its message.
Continuing to expand on his signature design vernacular that supersizes references from workwear and chicano street culture and investigates the intersection of queerness and machismo, Chavarria also looked to archival imagery of key change-making movements in the country’s political history, from the farm workers movement through the civil rights era and up to today with Black Lives Matter. All together, the collection – titled América – becomes a sartorial collage of resilience and solidarity – which gets a further boost from the designer’s always excellent casting.
The show concluded with a surprise final act that unveiled Chavarria’s collaboration with Adidas Originals, which is sure to be a sellout hit – especially with the boost it will get from Olympian gold medalist sprinter Noah Lyles closing the show in the collabs’ tiny shorts. Also introduced was a new collaboration with historic American shoemaker Allen Edmonds – the ‘Jalisco,’ a split-toe Derby oxford with a Cuban heel for which Chavarria meticulously crafted the details. The shoe anchored many of the collection’s looks, confidently furthering its cultural synthesis of formal and workwear elements.
THE DIRECTION
THE QUOTE
‘América’ references the word ‘America,’ through the voice of an immigrant. It’s how so many poeple grow up hearing and saying the name of their country. I wanted this show to be a reminder to everybody that everyone living hear has a place here. Even with the sordid history of the country itself, we still have the ability to come together and create.”
THE WRAP UP
This is Willy Chavarria’s América: a community of immigrants, activists, and icons, an unflinchingly progressive look to the future without forgetting where we came from.
