New York Fashion Week Men’s Willy Chavarria Fall Winter 2017 Men’s Show was presented at Skylight: Clarkson Square. Check out the review.
“It’s titled ‘Harder,’ because it represents a harder time that we’re moving into, and it’s a reminder that we need to fight harder, be harder, and love harder.” According to lead designer Willy Chavarria, you might not have expected a turn toward early 90’s Cholo and Chicano culture to be a leading influence in design for the current political climate. But here we are, with a presentation that involves young black men trapped in a cage for no apparent reason, being let free at the leisure of someone else. It was a dark and serious and beautiful show, concept driven, but the clothes were allowed to speak for themselves: A lovely black military jacket cut short, a collar of fur and secured with a belt. A suit with pants cropped just above the ankle lurks below. A camel coat paired with a knit hat quietly announcing “F*ck hate” in black feels almost too 2017. Chavarria’s maintains a signature in this collection, rounding out a decent collection of baggy or wide but cropped pants, interpreted in a blue wash denim, sand tan, and even leather. Chavarria even dips into the gender conversation, with classic K-mart-esque tees that say “GENDER-BENDER CHAMPIONS” and “SPORTS” its a humorous but concise approach to the question of gender and the gimmick of team pride.
We went backstage to chat about the the hair and makeup looks, with the team from AXE. Check it out:
John Ruidant on hair, using AXE products:
John Ruidant: It’s not one specific look, so depending on their texture or length, we custom-made it to that. So with that in mind, there were a lot of braids, so we’d use Messy Look Matte Gel to give some grip with some salt-spray. On the ends with shorter hair, we’d finish with either Messy Look Matte Gel or Natural Look Paste. For the afros, the dreads or braids, we worked with each individual person to suit the look. We wanted them to look natural and feel like themselves,
Misha Shahzada on makeup looks:
Misha Shahzada: Makeup for all the male models was pretty simple, just covering their blemishes and giving them a bit of glow and sheen in their skin. As for the two female models in the show, just a little bit of mascara, clean skin, and a bit of contour.
The Knockturnal: How long does it take to get the look done?
Misha Shahzada: For the boys, about 10 minutes and for the girls about 15 to 20 minutes. No color involved, just very natural.
