Willy Chavarria knows well about immigrants’ contributions to the United States. As the child of an Irish-American mother and Mexican-American father who was born and raised in rural Fresno, California – a small city in the Central Valley located three hours away by car from San Francisco – Chavarria grew up in a working-class migrant family, so he witnessed first-hand the gruelling hours immigrants work to achieve the American dream.
‘The community that I grew up in as a kid had a tremendous influence on not only my aesthetic and my work ethic, but also my view of what the country is that we live in, what it means to be American,’ Chavarria says prior to his S/S 2025 runway show, which took place yesterday evening (September 6) as part of New York Fashion Week. ‘I grew up around my grandparents and my father, who were very proud to be in this country, and to be Americans.’
