Willy Chavarria is senior vice president of design at Calvin Klein and chief creative officer at his namesake label. He is known for weaving politics, race and sexuality into his designs, and for his commitment to diversity and social engagement in the industry.
Though now well ensconced at the top of the American fashion establishment, Chavarria’s path has been long and unusual. He was born in Fresno, California, to an Irish-American mother and a Mexican-American father and grew up in a working class community of immigrant farmers far removed from the New York fashion scene.
He moved to San Francisco in his 20s to study graphic design while working part time in the shipping department at Joe Boxer. In 1999, he took a role with Ralph Lauren in New York before joining American Eagle Outfitters as design director.
In 2015, Chavarria launched his own label, gaining critical acclaim for his distinct interpretation of men’s fashion. He also used his shows as platforms for political expression, taking a diverse approach to casting long before much of the rest of the industry. Chavarria "produces some of the most socially engaging runway shows in New York," Pullitzer Prize-winning critic Robin Givhan wrote in The Washington Post in 2018.
He joined Calvin Klein in 2021, an appointment The New York Times said could make Chavarria the most highly placed Latino working on the creative side of the American fashion industry. His work under his own label was recognised by the industry with a 2022 CFDA Award nomination for menswear designer of the year.
