Willy Chavarria’s Paris Fashion Week Debut Made LGBTQ+ Rights Front and Center

Willy Chavarria’s Paris Fashion Week Debut Made LGBTQ+ Rights Front and Center

At the finale of the show, Chavarria walked slowly down the runway wearing the crewneck shirt. The powerful moment was magnified by the words of Bishop Mariann Edger Budde that played on the loudspeakers above the music: Budde led the Inaugural prayer service following President Trump’s inauguration, directly addressing him as she asked the president to “have mercy upon the people in our country who are scared now.”

“There are gay, lesbian, and transgender children in Democratic, Republican, and Independent families, some who fear for their lives,” Budde’s sermon resounded as Chavarria made his way through the church.

This symbolic moment tied together the entire evening, proving that no law can silence someone’s true identity. Chavarria also bought billboards and displays throughout Paris to boost the sentiment on the shirt: “It’s just really the promotion of love and dignity in this really beautiful, elegant, artistic way.”

Willy Chavarria pfw 2025

@lucatombolini

Willy Chavarria’s show was one of the hottest seats in town, featuring runway models such as Paloma Elsesser, Bad Bunny’s brother Bernie Martínez Ocasio, rapper Tokischa, Becky G, and more. J Balvin surprised attendees with a performance among the models, and a string quartet also played at the event.

This isn’t the first time Chavarria has used his runway shows to make a statement. Last season, the designer’s show “América” was a celebration of his Mexican-American heritage and a nod to the farm workers of America. The designs included reworked uniforms featuring cargo pockets and long keychains. Chavarria was then partnered with the ACLU and, again, walked the runway during the show’s finale, on that occasion wearing a shirt with the nonprofit’s logo.

Tinder’s own mission has focused on causes that relate to its company, including LGBTQ+ and reproductive rights. The dating app has previously worked with designers to raise awareness for a cause, such as partnering with Area to create a “Bans Off Our Bodies” shirt that debuted at New York Fashion Week in September. That collaboration included a large donation to Planned Parenthood, and several volunteers were invited to watch the runway show. In addition to reproductive rights, Tinder is also focused on LGBTQ+ rights.

When working with Chavarria, Tinder’s global chief marketing officer Melissa Hobley tells Teen Vogue, the designer was curious about the company’s intentions. “We had the chance to talk to him about connection and loneliness and about the LGBTQ community and how important it was to have an experience for them and to take a stand,” Hobley explains. “Part of our job at Tinder is to understand the rights that are at stake for the LGBTQ community.”

She continues, “Human Rights Campaign is a leader in that space, and we’ve had a long relationship with them and supported a lot of their initiatives…. It was a really easy, fun, and creative process with [Willy].”

As for Chavarria, he has always had one foot planted firmly in social justice through his work, and he doesn’t plan on stopping anytime soon. In 2017, the designer made a statement about putting Mexican immigrants in cages at the border, even as those close to him tried to warn him against doing so. “A lot of people tried to persuade me not to do it because nobody wants to lose customers. But it turned out to do the opposite,” he recalls. “It actually grew my business, and people connected with the messaging because it communicated with people on a much more personal level than just looking cool.”

link

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *