Willy Chavarria is Menswear Designer of the Year again. He has a message for America

Willy Chavarria earned the top fashion prize for Menswear Designer of the Year at the 2024 Council of Fashion Designers of America Fashion Awards held Monday in New York.

Nominees this year included Mike Amiri for Amiri, Emily Adams Bode Aujla for Bode, Thom Browne, Todd Snyder and Chavarria. Australian singer-songwriter and actor Troye Sivan presented Chavarria with the honor. The victory was a back-to-back sweep for the Central Valley fashion designer who also secured the coveted title last year.

“When I began in this fashion business, I was really committed to, and still am, transforming the way we see ourselves through fashion,” said Chavarria in his acceptance speech.

The Mexican American designer has carved out a unique platform in the fashion industry with his Chicano-inspired designs that often teeter on the lines of politics and identity. Influenced by cholo street style and 1940s zoot suits, Chavarria reclaims historically stigmatized attire to challenge notions of high fashion.

“In many ways, it’s funny to think that somebody’s going to pay $1,300 for a workwear jacket I designed based on something my grandfather wore,” said Chavarria in an interview with The Times earlier this month.

“I think it’s cool that I’m able to be a luxury designer, because that position has been so exclusive to people who are not like me, so I want to occupy that space,” he added.

A series of celebrities donned his oversized silhouette pieces on the red carpet ahead of the ceremony including Danny Ramirez, Omar Apollo, J Balvin and more.

During his acceptance speech, Chavarria also addressed the upcoming presidential election, acknowledging it as “discomfort” for many fashion aficionados in the room who feel concerned about their existence as people — making specific note of women, immigrants, people of color and LGBTQ+ people.

“I want to remind us that we need to talk to the people who may not be concerned about their own rights,” Chavarria said. “[The election] is not just for us to worry about, it’s for everyone to worry about.”

Politics are a fitting discussion for Chavarria — his 2025 Spring/Summer collection, titled “America,” draws inspiration from working-class laborers and migrant farm workers, also paying homage to the civil rights and the United Farm Workers movements. With expertly tailored trousers, jackets, collared shirts, bandanas and more, the Huron-raised designer reflects the emotional and romantic essence of day-to-day workwear.

“There are so many brands that use their platform to amplify what America is,” he told The Times.

Chavarria left his role as senior vice president of design at Calvin Klein earlier this year to focus on his own apparel, having already worked with household brands like Joe Boxer, American Eagle and Ralph Lauren.

“So I just wanted to flip the script a little bit and show what America really looks like, and who we really are,” he added. “I think we’re kind of past the white idealism that we’ve been given for so long as the standard of luxury.”

Chavarria introduced his new line during New York Fashion Week, kicking off the event with a dominating American flag hung center stage as the Yakima, Wash., trio Yahritza y Su Esencia heart-sung a rendition of Juan Gabriel’s “Querida” — the song symbolizing a yearning for the American dream.

“I never dreamt I would be doing a show with an American flag in it,” Chavarria told The Times. “But with the elections approaching, I was just thinking more and more about how some Latinos are either on the fence about who they’re voting for, or on the side of a politician who’s only going to repress us.”

“We belong here, we have a voice, and we have the ability to come together and create a future for ourselves here,” he added.