For his spring 2020 collection, Willy Chavarria tapped into the San Francisco and New York underground club scenes of the late 1980s and early 1990s. In an era where Latin machismo was front and center in underground gay culture, what has probably never been acknowledged in the fashion industry until Willy Chavarria’s spring 2020 collection was the incredible style and fashion-forward sensibility that came out of the gay Latino underground club scene.
Chavarria’s menswear is for a niche audience. And more specifically for that stylish man who is enamored with vintage looks and does not shy away from fashion that conjures up images of the late 80s and early 90s. That particular consumer will be attracted to Willy Chavarria’s spring 2020 collection.
That said; there were no groundbreaking menswear silhouettes or unfamiliar fabric choices or combinations in this outing. However, what Chavarria did accomplish was presenting the sexy masculinity of gay Latin culture of that era, and doing that with very simple, familiar silhouettes.
Though this collection was simple an unadorned in scope, there was quite a b it of charm to the clothes. The loose-fitted jeans with mesh tops and silk bombers were expertly juxtaposed against Chavarria’s choice of Latin male models.
And though this collection demonstrated the swagger and confidence of Latino machismo, there were some slightly feminine silhouettes thrown in. In fact, the feminine touches throughout the collection did not distract from Chavarria’s design aesthetic, but interestingly added to it. Only a self-assured man can pull off feminine silhouettes with confidence and aplomb.
Images courtesy of vogue.com
Willy Chavarria’s collections appeal mostly to a niche audience. And that is not a bad thing. With menswear brands folding every season, maintaining a niche audience may be the key to market stability. And Willy just might have the key!!
—William S. Gooch
The Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s was one of the most revolutionary and creative eras of black history. Harlem, New York became the pinnacle of black intellectual, artistic and social movements, forever changing black culture and putting the merits of black artists on display. Needless to say, even modern-day black contributions to creative industries owe themselves to the work of those who made the Harlem Renaissance happen from Langston Hughes to Countee Cullen to Zora Neale Hurston.
In April when it was announced that the designer would be doing a show based on AI, everyone assumed that he meant Artificial Intelligence. As the runway show began, it was clear that this was not an homage to the future of fashion and technology, but, rather, an ode to black arts and culture past, present, and future. In this case, AI stood for “Authentic Identity.”
Naeem Khan has his finger, and a lot more, on the pulse of where modern bridal collections should be. Influenced by an article in The New York Times, as a part of their New York International Bridal Week spring 2020 season pre-coverage, that extolled the need for bridal designers to be more aware of the fact that the modern bridal customer is in the market for something that goes beyond fairytale, princess bridal gowns. Khan took notice of this and adjusted his spring 2020 bridal collection accordingly.
That said; for spring 2020 Khan did stray away from his penchant for overly embellished gowns, some of which could serve someone well at a discotheque or on a red carpet. There were more traditional bridal silhouettes in his current bridal collection with the embellishments appearing more on the veils than the bridal gowns themselves.
