Paris is always dramatic during fashion week, but what Willy Chavarria did this June 2025 wasn’t just dramatic. It was a full- blown political statement wrapped in tailoring, emotion and identity. It wasn’t about selling clothes.It was about being seen, about dignity, about minorities who are constantly policed, erased and deported. And he did it without saying a word.

Opening Scene : A silent protest

The show opened with 35 men, shaved heads, kneeling in a straight line, heads down and hands behind their backs. They looked like prisoners. Not models. The white shirts and basketball shorts so simple, almost too plain, were loaded. It felt like watching a staged ICE raid.But make it fashion.

The space was completely silent except for a haunting slow version of “California dreamin”. Suddenly you could feel the message. This wasn’t just about America. It was about all of us.About who gets to dream and who doesn’t.

Why it matters: From Huron to Paris

The show was call HURON, named after Willy’s hometown in California, a working-class migrant community. ICE has been raiding places like that more and more lately, People are being deported without warning, without trials and sometimes even without their families knowing.

Willy’s work has always been personal with his workout this season he truly said I’m not holding back. He brought the experience of being Latino, undocumented and marginalised communities to one of the most elite stages in the world and made everyone watch.

Runway Highlights: Protest turned elegance

After that heavy opener, the runway exploded. Like literally. Conor,shapes and structure. It was all there. But never just for show.

The Looks:

• Oversized tailoring, signature Willy. Suits in bubblegum pink, brick red, deep yellow commanding without being stiff.

• Preppy streetwear done the Chavarria way hoodies with bishop sleeves, tracksuits that felt both luxe and street.

• Women’s looks were sharp corseted skirts, powerful silhouettes, like softness and structure in one.

• Undertones of prison wear, school uniforms, and immigrant workwear but reimagined. It felt like reclaiming those clothes instead of being shamed in them.

Willy’s genius is that he can take symbols of control and turn them into something beautiful. Defiant. Regal even.

Fashion Meets Reality: The ICE Context

Let’s be real. This wasn’t abstract. In the U.S., ICE has been deporting people en masse even sending some to El Salvador’s mega-prison. Families are torn apart. Neighborhoods like Huron are living in fear.

So when Willy put out T-shirts that said “Right to Exist”, that wasn’t a slogan. That was survival.Even the invites looked like ICE documents but flipped. Instead of court orders, they read: You have the right to be here. It hit different.

Why It Was So Powerful

Willy Chavarria isn’t interested in being polite. And I love that. He’s not here to entertain. He’s here to shake the room.This show didn’t just talk about identity it demanded dignity for the people who usually get ignored. For brown boys in white tees.

For women in tight skirts walking against the system. For everyone who’s ever been told they don’t belong.And he did it with grace, not spectacle. With love, not pity.

My Takeaways: Why This Show Matters

Here’s why this was one of the most important shows this season maybe this year:

• Fashion as protest: This was a political act, not just a runway. Willy reminded us that fashion has the power to speak louder than a press conference.
• Tailoring with intention: Every look was saying something. About class. About migration. About freedom. Nothing felt random.
• Cultural storytelling:Willy brought the global South, the barrio, the detention center, and the chapel to Paris. He made them holy.
• Centering the marginalized: It wasn’t about representation for applause. It was lived experience on display raw and unfiltered

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Final Thoughts: This Is What Fashion Should Be

When the music stopped and the applause started, it didn’t feel like the usual fashion week reaction. People were emotional. Shaken..Willy didn’t just make a collection. He made a statement. And he made space for those who never get invited to the table let alone the front row.When the show was done I was like  Damn. This is why I care about fashion. Because when it’s done right, fashion is storytelling. It’s defiance. It’s truth stitched into silk and denim and cotton.And most importantly, it’s power.

It also shows the way political movements affect and inspires minorities to protest through fashion and to be so unapologetic like Chavarria did.

Until next time,

see you next week guys!!
Perrine 

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