From the ‘Right to Exist’ Invite to the Runway Kneels: Every Symbol in Willy Chavarria’s Paris Show
Willy Chavarria doesn’t just design clothes. He designs statements. And at Paris Fashion Week, he delivered one of his most powerful yet.
The show opened with a chilling tribute to deported migrants
On June 27, inside the elegant Salle Pleyel concert hall in Paris, 35 models with shaved heads entered in silence. They wore oversized white t-shirts and matching shorts and moved in a single-file line. Once on the carpeted runway, they dropped to their knees, their heads bowed, their hands clasped behind their backs. The scene directly referenced images from El Salvador’s CECOT prison, where hundreds of immigrants have been detained after deportation from the U.S.
The t-shirts—created in collaboration with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)—carried a printed message: “THE ACLU DARES TO CREATE A MORE PERFECT UNION – BEYOND ONE PERSON, PARTY, OR SIDE.”
Chavarria told Vogue that as the show opened, ICE raids were actively unfolding in his hometown of Huron, California. “There are tanks rolling through the streets, and there are armed militia surrounding homes. So it’s a state of horror,” he said.
“The opening piece was to contrast against the beauty of the people that are actually being kidnapped and shipped away, broken away from their families. The chaos that we’re seeing right now.”
Even the invites to Willy Chavarria’s show told a story
Every detail was intentional. According to Harper’s Bazaar, the show invitations mimicked government-issued immigration summons. But instead of demanding attendance, they read: “NOTICE OF RIGHT TO EXIST.”
Guests received mock Social Security cards with their seat numbers, setting the tone for what Chavarria called a “Presentation of Humanity.”
Willy Chavarria fused fashion with protest, tailoring with truth
As reported by GQ, the collection was titled “HURON,” a tribute to Chavarria’s hometown in California’s Central Valley. It marked his second season showing in Paris, and once again, he used the platform to amplify the political climate surrounding immigration.
After the solemn opening, models strutted out in an explosion of color: bubblegum-pink ties, leather bombers, oversized tailoring in papaya, red hot, and uniform green tones inspired by factory uniforms. According to Forbes, the tailoring was produced in Italy using exclusive fabrics, marking Chavarria’s first full accessory line.
Chavarria told GQ: “We’re in a time of erasure. The erasure of cultures, the erasure of people, the erasure of education, the erasure of compassion, and the erasure of identity. So it’s very important for me in this collection to amplify, show presence, and claim reason for being.”
There were quiet nods, too, like a t-shirt that read “America” upside down
Chavarria, who previously worked at Ralph Lauren, played with preppy tropes. Think: exaggerated Ivy League silhouettes, vintage-inspired gowns, and vibrant sportswear co-designed with adidas. According to Hypebeast, this was the third installment of the adidas Originals x Willy Chavarria collaboration.
But it wasn’t just the clothes. The soundscape included a bluesy cover of “This Land Is Your Land” by Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings. Vivir Quintana performed “Te Mereces Un Amor” live. Models like DannyLux and Rainao walked the show. NBA player James Harden and NFL star Stefon Diggs appeared on the runway.
Willy Chavarria gave fashion its most emotional moment of the week
As guests exited, many were still wiping away tears. According to the Los Angeles Times, social media lit up with reactions. “I’m crying ugly tears,” one TikTok user posted. Others called it “revolutionary” and praised Chavarria for turning fashion into “a powerful tool to bring injustice to light.”
But not everyone was on board. Some questioned whether staging the prison-like imagery at a luxury fashion show crossed a line. “Why monetize on it?” one commenter asked.
Still, for Chavarria, the message was clear. As he told Forbes: “With regard to activism and politics, regardless of what we do, we’re being political. When we’re not saying something, it’s much louder than saying something.”
As Paris Fashion Week unfolded with collections full of fantasy and escapism, Chavarria brought reality to the front row. And in doing so, he reminded the fashion world: silence is a choice, and so is resistance.
