Willy Chavarria on getting down and dirty with his new, X-rated porno zine

Willy Chavarria’s models look really, really good in his clothes, but for his latest project, he’s stripping them out of them and plastering them across the pages of an XXX-rated porno zine. 

Bursting out of a discreet black envelope marked DIRTY WILLY are a succession of photos in which members of his community – like those who stomp down his runway, or otherwise star in his subversive campaigns – are seen oiled up, flexing their muscles, and showing, in some instances, a whole lot of dick. “I don’t know if you’re actually going to be able to publish a lot of them,” the New York-based designer laughs as we chat on Zoom a couple of days after his SS25 show. “But it’s a really beautiful project.” 

The book follows on from Chavarria’s recent project of the same name, which saw him drop a line of classic underwear which had undergone various treatments to make it look grubby and worn – piss stains were splattered across the crotch, and dirty smears and fingermarks dotted the waistband. Both feel like a bit of a rogue move from a man calling himself “The new Ralph Lauren”, one of the labels at which he did a stint before founding his eponymous label back in 2015. It’s true that both designers share a penchant for exploring all-American aesthetics, and their casts are similarly buff and muscle-bound, but it’s hard to imagine Lauren ever dropping anything nearly as smutty or sexy as DIRTY WILLY.

Both brands’ clothes, however, are intended to be “for everyone”. Chavarria is on a mission to dress a huge swathe of America, and for his label to become as ubiquitous as Ralph Lauren, and if his speedily-growing fanbase is anything to go by, he’s already on his way to becoming a household name. In just a few short years, the designer’s shows are some of the most anticipated and later talked-about on the NYFW calendar. 

Intent on telling stories of his Mexican American heritage and uplifting the Chicano community within his work, his SS25 runway saw him take over JP Morgan’s headquarters for a poignant, political meditation on what it means to live in America right now. For the new season, this translated to a mish-mash of reinterpreted workwear staples, like chore jackets and classic wide-legged chinos amped up to Chavarria’s exaggerated proportions, as well as the slick, boxy tailoring he’s becoming known for. At the more relaxed end of the scale was a succession of slouchy sweats bearing “Chavarria Fine Fashions” motifs, and a big adidas collaboration. 

The partnership with the German sportswear behemoth felt like a no-brainer for Chavarria. “I have a long history of wearing adidas,” the designer says. “I used to wear a lot of their track pants and sneakers back when I was living in San Francisco and going to a lot of raves, so it’s beautiful that it’s come all the way around and we’re now working with them.” Taking over the second half of the show, out came blown-up sports jackets sporting bolshy dual-branding, comfy hoodies, and a new, blacked-out take on adidas’ ‘Jabbar’ sneaker shot through with flashes of Chavarria red. 

I’d love to go to Gucci. Could you imagine? – Willy Chavarria

Beyond the adidas collab, he’s also behind a new capsule which backs Democratic candidate Kamala Harris in her bid to become President of the United States in 2025. With fashion’s biggest brands notoriously quiet when it comes to politics for fear of pissing off their customer, I ask Chavarria if he is worried being so outspoken might hinder his bid to become as big as Ralph Lauren – who has dressed both Melania Trump and Joe Biden in recent years, and tends to keep his nose out of endorsing either side. “I couldn’t do this if I couldn’t be political,” he says. “The brand is inherently political, and there’s so much to speak up for.” Post SS25 show, Chavarria even handed out stickers reading “WILLY SAYS VOTE”. 

Whether or not he achieves world domination or not, Chavarria has big plans for the future. “I want to go to a house,” he says of his next steps. Having also worked high-up at Calvin Klein, he explains he’s ready to take the reins of a big house as its creative director. “I’d love to go to Gucci,” he tells me, “could you imagine?” His PR interjects and suggests Chanel, to which he laughs raucously. “Oh they’d never have me, but that would be incredible.”

With Glenn Martens out at Y/Project just a few days before our call, I suggest it could be a good shout. “Oh that would be good,” he agrees, his subversive approach to design and knack for storytelling a great option to lead on from its prolific Belgian director. For now, Chavarria is quiet as to whether any offers have been laid on the table, but given how stratospherically his star continues to rise, it’s highly unlikely his name isn’t being spoken behind some big closed doors already. Until that time comes, he’s just as happy to be doing his own thing – and so are we. 

Check out DIRTY WILLY in the gallery above, and revisit the SS25 Willy Chavarria show in the one below.