Feb 3
SuperQueer Designer Willy Chavarria Wows Paris with Political Statement, and Collaborates with Kendrick Lamar Ahead of Super Bowl
READ TIME: 5 MIN.
Queer fashion designer Willy Chavarria is having a moment. After wowing the fashion world last Friday with a "a showstopper of a Paris Fashion Week debut" (according to GQ), he is back with some Super Bowl-related news involving Super Bowl LIX halftime performer Kendrick Lamar.
It was at last Friday's event that Chavarria, who was named by GQ as the Breakthrough Designer of the Year in the 2024 GQ Fashion Awards, scored a knockout with his signature elevation of the Chicano aesthetic making waves in the world of high fashion.
At Friday's event he also introduced a branding partnership with Adidas, GQ writes in a related article. "The two have partnered in the past on sneakers and apparel but 'TARANTULA' levels the partnership up with an extensive array of kicks, all anchored by a favorite of Chavarria's from the Adidas archive," reports INTOmore..
But Chavarria's most tellingly queer moment came midway through, when the music stopped and on came the voice of Bishop Mariann Edger Budde and the words that confronted Donald Trump and his administration at the recent inaugural prayer ceremony for their discrimination against trans people. "While Budde's words played on the loudspeakers, Chavarria himself took to the stage in a sweatshirt design that read How we love is who we are, in old English font," writes INTOmore.
"This was quite the closing act as Chavarria, who is openly gay, made it very clear that he will not stray away from speaking up about issues currently facing not only the LGBTQ+ community but migrant and intersectional communities as well," adds INTOmore. "According to press releases, the design itself was created by Chavarria in response to the over 570 anti-LGBTQ+ bills that have been introduced this past year. The crewneck was made in partnership with Tinder and the Human Right's campaign in which all proceeds would go to the HRC. As of writing the sweatshirt has completely sold out with a price tag of about $200 USD." (View it here on Chaviarria's website.)
