Willy Chavarria can now add another notch to his belt.

The city of Huron, Calif., where the designer was raised, proclaimed May 3 as Willy Chavarria Day in honor of his contributions to fashion, culture and social justice . The date also marked the city’s 75 th anniversary.

Chavarria grew up in the small city in California’s San Joaquin Valley, the son of a Mexican father and an Irish mother. Huron was largely a farming town populated by immigrants whose lives and culture influenced his work. In 2025, he partnered with Mexican-Colombian American photographer Carlos Jaramillo to film “Heart of the Valley,” a documentary highlighting the city’s cultural and agricultural life.…