It takes Willy Chavarria two weeks to design one of his collections.
Last year, that was enough for him to be named “Designer of the Year” at the Latin American Fashion Awards and CFDA Menswear Designer of the Year.
The rest is all business.
“Fortunately, I have experience working at a senior level in a company, and I understand that if you start with the big picture and then go to design, it fits into the big picture,” Chavarria said in an interview. . At his studio in Greenpoint, Brooklyn.
“I spend probably about two weeks with the designer actually designing it and putting it together,” he said. “And that's while still doing a lot of other things.”
Chavarria is a fashion expert who has worked with the likes of Ralph Lauren, American Eagle Outfitters, Yeezy, and Dickies Construct. Until last summer, he was senior vice president of design at Calvin Klein, which is undergoing a shake-up under a new global structure.
Fashion designers are often seen living amazing lives filled with red carpets, fancy dinners, and awards. If you do it right, a good portion can occur. But often, it's the “other stuff” — the core of running a business — that not only fills their days, but also determines their success.
Fashion is an art promoted by commerce on a practical level.
To learn more about how designers make it all work, WWD spoke to Chavarria about when a design is complete and the admittedly not-so-great business process begins. did.
First, you need to assign a style number to each design. Technical specifications for each appearance have also been sent to the factory.
“A lot of spreadsheets are starting to get involved,” Chavarria said.
Each step requires a little more money. Capital and the need for more capital is a steady theme that dominates the business side of most small designer businesses.
“There are companies that we need to work with and start using that software to issue UPC labels,” he said. “You're paying all these people to print UPC labels, and that's about $6 per product. And distributors use that, and websites use that. That's how we track products from other countries.
“But these are all things that don't really get considered when you're just thinking, 'Oh, I'm going to make clothes and sell them,'” he said.
After a design is handed over to a factory (Chavarria's looks are produced in the United States, Peru, and Japan), there's a development process where the factory creates samples, reviews and tweaks.
“Often times before production begins, we go to the factory to review each style and confirm all details,” he said.
While each new development or growth spurt comes with its own challenges, this is a step-and-repeat that Chavarria is familiar with.
Chavarria, 56 years old; launched his own line in 2015 and used funding from other design work to support it. By 2019, the brand was self-funded.
The newly relaunched website continues to experience 100-120 percent year-over-year growth. Up until now, Mr. Chavarria had not spent any money on marketing, but now that his e-commerce site has been updated, he may spend money on marketing. Check out paid advertising.
The brand already sells wholesale in the U.S. through Bergdorf Goodman and other outlets, but is also investing in expanding its global wholesale distribution.
“This is my first time doing something like this,” said the designer. “We have a sales team and we sell all over the world. We're selling in Paris right now. This is the first time we've done something like this.”
Is it exciting? scared?
“That's why the prices are so high,” Chavarria says.
Part of that comes from the circuitous and disjointed routes money takes as it flows between retailers, brands and factories.
“If we get a $1 million order, we need to come up with about $400,000 to make it,” Chavarria said. “We don’t receive your money from the store until 30 to 60 days after delivery.”
To make that process smoother, designers are looking to start working with factoring companies, which pay brands upfront and collect from retailers when orders are shipped.
This is standard practice for fashion brands that have many other demands on their budget.
“You're paying $300,000 to have a show, you're paying $50,000 to do a show in Paris, and all of this is happening at the same time,” Chavarria said. “You're paying normal operating costs: rent, overhead. It's a very expensive game.
“That's the only game I know,” he said. “I like it. I mean, I knew what I was getting into.”
That seems to have made a big difference for Chavarria, who says he has learned “so much” from other design jobs.
“That's why I didn't start my brand right away when I was fresh out of art school,” he says. “I waited until I studied and learned enough and saw how things worked and learned about numbers and margins and production and factory visits.
“I learned all about how the business works before I actually joined, so I felt confident that I could do it,” he said. “I see so many people, especially now with social media, that everyone thinks they can become a designer and start printing hoodies and make a living doing it.”
Success in the fashion industry often requires working within the system, simply to align with other players.
Mr. Chavarria initially started working around his own schedule, but now he is part of the industry's superstructure.
“To sell in bulk and make the money we need now, we need to join programs in other countries around the world,” he said.
It goes back to runway shows. The designer said it's “a way to convey any kind of message with maximum impact.”
“I don't know how sustainable that whole process is in general,” he says. “It's all because of the calendar, the fashion calendar, the seasonal and retail windows, when the price drops happen, everything else… You have to be there… otherwise you miss out on big launches and campaigns. It will be.
“I think there's another way, and I'm going to find it,” he said.
Willy Chavarria look.
Provided by: Willy Chavarria
But now Chavarria has to settle everything.
“I touch on everything that happens,” he said. “I don't know how I've been doing it all these years and I feel like I'm about to completely explode or start going up in flames, but at the same time it's so exciting that I'm addicted to it.” ”
There are many areas Chavarria would like to invest in, but he knows where he would invest if he suddenly had money to spend.
“I would hire a CEO,” he said.
“I would like you to work with me to hire a team to build a complete infrastructure, including production, product development, and finance,” he said.
Chavarria's approach is more “community” than “hierarchical.”
“The best work situations that produce the best results are when everyone is working together at the same table, sharing ideas from different perspectives, from everywhere, and putting something together and seeing it come to fruition.” He said. “The infrastructure that I want and need to build is not massive. It's just a high-performance product.”
For now, Chavarria's husband, who has returned from Copenhagen where he worked at jeweler Pandora, is helping run the business as chief financial officer.
“He is all the liaison between the sales team and us to start wholesale,” the designer said. “He's moving us to the distribution center, but he's just helping me out because he has his own passion.
“There are a lot of people who would like to work for me, but I can’t afford to hire them yet,” he said.
That may change.
Although Chavarria owns 100% of the business, he and the business appear to be about ready to bring in outside funding.
“When you get to this point, you're going to need money from somewhere to take it to the next level, and at some point somebody's going to need some capital,” Chavarria said. “There are a lot of people who want to participate. But I don't always trust these people, or they ask me too much for too little.
“It's difficult to make it happen, but I have faith,” he said.
