Willy Chavarria has been a consistent figure at New York Fashion Week (NYFW) since the launch of his label a decade ago. After the pandemic, his profile rose as the result of a subtle but timely change in direction to a dressier, more sophisticated output. His became one of the most anticipated shows in New York, and Chavarria won the CFDA Award for Menswear Designer of the Year twice in a row, in 2023 and 2024.
This year, he left for Paris, showing on the menswear schedule in January and skipping the Autumn/Winter 2025 shows at NYFW. When I spoke with Chavarria at a preview the week before his show, it became evident that the move was a combination of clear-headed, well-earned ambition and business pragmatism. In order to expand his wholesale base, Chavarria needs to not only time his market presentations to the menswear schedule, but to bring his collections where his buyers are: Paris.
This is not a unique story. Before him came Zac Posen, Joseph Altuzarra, Thom Browne, Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez of Proenza Schouler, The Row and many more who started in New York and left for Paris — even if some came back.
The general consensus among buyers, editors and the balance of the fashion week set is that Chavarria’s departure is an indisputable loss for NYFW. It’s true that Chavarria will be missed this season. His shows, always politically charged and diverse in casting and attendance in a way most larger labels simply can’t pay their way into, are just what the American fashion landscape seems to need at the moment. But, as Chavarria told me, his “message is global”, and when he put it to the test in Paris two weeks ago, he confirmed this statement. Designers like Chavarria should not just be allowed to branch out but should be encouraged. And New York Fashion Week does not need to suffer because designers have global aspirations, commercial or else.
Chavarria is not alone. This season, Zane Li, a Fashion Institute of Technology graduate who launched his label Lii in New York last year with a women’s collection, decided to expand into menswear. He introduced the capsule in Paris by appointment, as he did with his women’s launches Stateside. He will do the same thing with his womenswear line-up come March. The choice to bypass New York felt obvious, he said. Li explained that he needed to bring his collection to the buyers who don’t otherwise make the trip to New York. The Commission designers Dylan Cao and Jin Kay have also switched their production and presentation timeline to align with the menswear and pre-collections calendar (which happen at the same time). They have also started doing both market and press appointments in Paris, and, as they said at their showroom last week, for the same reasons as Li and Chavarria.
