Last week at Paris Fashion Week, designer Willy Chavarria unveiled his new collection “Tarantula,” a line that draws inspiration from LA Chicano culture. Featuring lavishly striking designs of tuxedos and puffy rose-like dresses worn by nonbinary models, the collection was an unmitigated success.
Related
Fashion designer Rio Uribe offers an insider’s look at his brand Gypsy Sport.
What really stole the show, however, was the music stopping mid-walk to play back Bishop Mariann Edger Budde’s inaugural prayer ceremony confronting the Tr*mp administration for their discrimination towards transgender people. While Budde’s words played on the loudspeakers, Chavarria himself took to the stage in a sweatshirt design that read “How we love is who we are,” in old English font.
Related
Comfy, cozy, and with pockets big enough to fit a Nintendo Switch.
Culture, unfiltered
Our newsletter will bring you the pulse of queer culture, from the tastemakers to the groundbreakers.
This was quite the closing act as Chavarria, who is openly gay, made it very clear that he will not stray away from speaking up about issues currently facing not only the LGBTQ+ community but migrant and intersectional communities as well. According to press releases, the design itself was created by Chavarria in response to the over 570 anti-LGBTQ+ bills that have been introduced this past year. The crewneck was made in partnership with Tinder and the Human Right’s campaign in which asll proceeds would go to the HRC. As of writing the sweatshirt has completely sold out with a price tag of about $200 USD.
Chavarria has often used his the runway to make political statements: in 2017, he had his models showcase outfits from within a chain-link cage in response to the Tr*mp Administration’s border policies. The recent collaboration with HRC and Tinder comes in response to the sweeping anti-LGBTQ+ executive orders we’ve already seen leveled against young people specifically in recent weeks.
According to Tinder, over 20% of new users identify as queer. Tinder Global Marketing Chief Officer Melissa Hobley spoke to Teen Vogue about the collaboration with Chavarria, stating that:
“We had the chance to talk to him about connection and loneliness and about the LGBTQ community and how important it was to have an experience for them and to take a stand…part of our job at Tinder is to understand the rights that are at stake for the LGBTQ community.”
In an age where we continue to see more queer artists across different mediums—such as Chappell Roan or Ethel Cain—refusing to censor who they are to appear more palatable to an ignorant majority, Chavarria’s collection is a powerful statement coming at a time when vulnerable younger queer people need it most.
Sign up for the INTO newsletter and get your twice-weekly dose of stories that shape the queer experience, culture, and lifestyle.
