Willy Chavarria Spring 2026 womenswear review.
In previous seasons, to attend a Willy Chavarria show is to enter the visionary’s politically charged, supportive fan community fueled by passion. The venues are packed, the crowds outside are monumental and the energy inside is palpable. But for the spring 2026 womenswear season, the designer decided to switch things up and go totally in the opposite direction with an extremely small, curated couture salon style show inside of a beautifully rococo designed room of the newly opened Printemps department store downtown.
Models sauntered and broke the fourth fall of fashion by making eye contact with the small crowd, walking through the room in a maze-like configuration with champagne glasses, single roses and numbered cards in hand. The beautifully high ceiling, intimate crowd and spaced out seating was a real world rarity in a system full of shows with overpacked benches and warehouse venues. It was a total throwback to the early days of runway shows, when models wound around the rooms of the atelier and slowly posed for clients and guests with those aforementioned cards to make it easy to place orders for the upcoming collection.
The unconventional NYFW show was held in celebration of the famed menswear designer’s wider womenswear launch. Some of the styles shown previously made their runway debut in Paris at the label’s menswear show in June 2025–granted, on a very different stage.
The hair was big, the attitudes were everything and the atmosphere was pure, old school glamour. In the world of Chavarria, there is also always going to be a certain rawness too. Here, that was delivered in the way the models carried themselves as well as the effortlessly cool silhouettes. Chavarria’s power is in cutting shapes that are big, strong, slightly punk and even a little big retro in their shape. Look at the contemporary womenswear landscape and he really fills a unique gap. Even his menswear–especially the oversized suits–is iconic when worn by women. Here, backless gowns had models swanning through the space while shoulder-padded green leather bomber jackets were a masterclass in instant personal style factor.
“It’s important to me that dressing be personal,” the designer said. “I’m delighted to share the collection in an intimate setting where I can speak about the love I have for women and what they wear.” If there was any question of whether or not this famed menswear designer can also dress women–he answered it with this collection.
All photos via Sudden Chic
Leave a Comment