Chalhoub Group Invests in Willy Chavarria Fueling Global Luxury Ambitions

Chalhoub Group, a prominent luxury conglomerate in the Gulf region, has made a significant strategic investment in Willy Chavarria, the acclaimed New York-based fashion brand. This move sees Chalhoub Group acquiring a minority stake in Willy Chavarria, joining forces with Fae Fashion Ventures, a disruptive creative brand incubator that first invested in the label in early 2024. The partnership is heralded as a pivotal step for the brand's global growth, creating a powerful trifecta of retail expertise, creative innovation, and cultural relevance, though the specific terms of the deal remain undisclosed.

The Chalhoub Group, a hybrid retailer, boasts an impressive portfolio encompassing ten owned brands, approximately 950 stores, and over 400 international brands across luxury, beauty, fashion, and art de vivre categories. Central to its strategic ambition, the Group actively supports emerging luxury brands through venture capital and M&A activities, with a particular focus on fragrance, leather goods, footwear, and homeware. This investment in Willy Chavarria underscores the Group’s commitment to backing scalable, high-potential brands that exhibit strong cultural relevance and visionary leadership.

According to Chalhoub Group, Willy Chavarria's cultural resonance and unique blend of experience in fashion, inclusive identity, and humanity position the brand to connect across diverse client segments and cultural moments. With over 70 years of experience in luxury retail and brand building across the Middle East and beyond, Chalhoub Group brings extensive expertise in market expansion, distribution, and value creation, which will be instrumental in supporting Willy Chavarria’s international acceleration.

Co-founded in 2015 by Willy Chavarria and David Ramirez, the New York label has quickly emerged as one of fashion’s most authentic voices. The brand is renowned for blending bold tailoring with socially conscious narratives and profound cultural symbolism, positioning itself at the forefront of next-generation luxury. Marking a significant milestone, Willy Chavarria made its official Paris Fashion Week debut in January 2025, further solidifying its global presence and artistic vision.

This strategic partnership is expected to unlock significant opportunities, facilitating expansion into key markets such as Europe and Asia, supporting a suite of new creative projects, and helping realize the long-term vision of CEO and creative director Willy Chavarria. Sarah Stennett of Fae Fashion Ventures expressed enthusiasm, stating that the fusion of retail, brand experience, and cultural expression through this collaboration will establish a blueprint for future-facing fashion brands.

Since its initial partnership with Fae Group in Spring/Summer 2024, Willy Chavarria has experienced substantial growth, including more than tripling its number of wholesale distributors, securing partnerships with leading retailers, and launching impactful collaborations with global brands like Adidas, Don Julio, and Tinder. Willy Chavarria's journey began with a modest background in a Californian farming community of Mexican and Irish origin. After studying art and working for Joe Boxer and leading sports collections at Ralph Lauren, he launched his eponymous brand in 2015, consistently weaving politics and fashion into his collections, exemplified by his sensational Paris runway debut featuring powerful social commentary.

Zahra Kassim-Lakha, chief investment officer at Chalhoub Group, emphasized that Willy Chavarria represents the evolving face of luxury, deeply rooted in culture, identity, and community. She affirmed that the partnership is grounded in a shared ambition to support brands with strong values and distinctive voices, recognizing Willy's creative vision and powerful storytelling as forces reshaping the global fashion landscape. Willy Chavarria’s global impact and creative vision have been widely recognized, culminating in accolades such as being a Woolmark Prize finalist in 2019, a Cooper Hewitt National Design Award winner in 2022, and receiving two CFDA American Menswear Designer of the Year awards.

Further strengthening the brand's backing, Webster Capital and its founder, Tony Olson, have also joined the investment consortium alongside Chalhoub Group and Fae Fashion Ventures. Olson noted that Willy Chavarria deeply resonates with their Experience-Memory-Emotion (EME) investment vertical, as the brand's message and identity are actively rewriting cultural narratives. While the percentage stakes held by Chalhoub, Fae Fashion Ventures, Webster Capital, and Willy Chavarria have not been disclosed, this collective investment signals a powerful collaborative effort to propel Willy Chavarria onto the global stage, solidifying its position as a defining voice in luxury fashion.