For AW25, Willy Chavarria chimed in his Paris debut by bringing out an all-star cast, with models including Indiyah Moore, J Balvin, Honey Dijon, Paloma Elsesser, Kai-Isaiah Jamal and Alva Claire. Now, for his sophomore show in the French capital, the US designer is taking the complete opposite approach, opening up his catwalk to literally anyone with the gall and gumption to call themselves a supermodel.
Reported late last night (June 15) on Albert Ayal’s Instagram page Up Next Designer, it seems that Chavarria is opening his studio doors to cast his upcoming SS26 runway, and you could be in with a chance of walking. Open to “all genders”, the only requirements are that you are not represented by a modelling agency – which luckily includes the majority of us normies – but also that you are above 5’10”, which cuts out about half of the Parisian population, where the average height is 5’9.5” (sorry short kings!)
Despite the star-studded AW25 show, Chavarria casting non-famous, non-models for his collections is nothing new – the designer is well-known for his on-the-fly street casting, often selecting models hours out from his catwalk shows. As far as we can recall, however, this is the first time that people have been able to show up at a specific address to audition for the show, so you guys better make this one count. For any Parisians reading this who are up for the challenge (or any non-Parisians, for that matter, wanting to make the long trip down), then the open casting is happening on June 20 at 9 Rue Cadet, 75009, Paris France from 12pm to 7pm.
Willy Chavarria’s SS26 catwalk will take place on June 27 at Paris Fashion Week. Scroll through the gallery above for his most recent collection