Zara is teaming up with Mexican American designer Willy Chavarria on VATÍSIMO, a capsule that channels Chicano pride, telenovela drama, and sharp tailoring into a high street collection for men and women, launching March 26, 2026, in selected stores and on Zara.com. Shot in Mexico with a cast led by Christy Turlington and Alberto Guerra, the campaign turns the collab into a full blown fashion soap opera, highlighting Zara’s ambition to make designer level storytelling accessible at mall prices.
What VATÍSIMO means and why it matters
The collection’s title, VATÍSIMO, is derived from vato, a colloquial word in Chicano communities for friend, homie, or loved one, with the superlative form used here to celebrate friendship, camaraderie, pride, and the strength of roots. Zara describes the project as rooted in dignity and about visibility, presenting Willy Chavarria’s aesthetic without dilution and without compromise to a global audience.
Editorial coverage frames the partnership as more than a logo play, arguing that Chavarria is bringing a distinctly Chicano, queer inclusive narrative into one of the world’s biggest mass retailers, at a moment when Inditex is also investing in a separate two year creative partnership with John Galliano on Zara’s archives. For Chavarria, the designer said to Vogue that the collaboration lets him present refined elements of the brand’s vision to a broader and more inclusive audience, while staying true to his emphasis on heritage, community, and emotional storytelling.
Inside the Zara x Willy Chavarria collection
Spanning menswear, womenswear, accessories, bags, shoes, and jewelry, VATÍSIMO translates Chavarria’s runway codes, oversized silhouettes, relaxed suiting, street wise romance, into pieces that sit comfortably on Zara racks. For women, highlights include highly structured pencil skirts, denim shirtdresses, floral blouses, pussy bow tops in saturated colours, silk slip dresses, boxy cotton dresses, and cropped, workwear inspired jackets that turn simple separates into statement outfits.
On the menswear side, the collection leans into broad shoulders and wide, confident shapes: wide leg shorts with sharply angled hems, relaxed tapered trousers, cupro work shirts with raw edge finishing, slouchy tailoring, and classic denim and jersey pieces elevated by cut and proportion. Many items are cut in Italian fabrics, silky cupro, and premium leather, echoing the material language of Chavarria’s main line while keeping pricing in line with Zara’s positioning.
A telenovela campaign shot in Mexico
The VATÍSIMO campaign amplifies the clothes with full telenovela drama. Directed by Glen Luchford and Willy Chavarria, and shot in Mexico, the film and imagery revolve around a love quadrangle marked by power, jealousy, and desire, drawing directly on the Mexican soap operas the designer’s team grew up watching.
Supermodel Christy Turlington appears as the central figure of the Willy Chavarria woman; Chavarria told Vogue he wanted people to perceive her in an entirely new light, styled in strong shouldered jackets crafted from tropical weight wool, patent fabrics, and leather to showcase both power and vulnerability. Actor Alberto Guerra anchors the menswear story, while Chavarria himself makes a brief cameo in wide angle shots that feel more like cinematic stills than conventional lookbook images.
Launch details and where to shop
The Zara x Willy Chavarria VATÍSIMO collection launches globally on March 26, 2026, dropping online at Zara.com at 12 a.m. EST and in selected Zara stores worldwide. A dedicated pop up at 73 Spring Street in SoHo, New York, will spotlight the capsule, while markets from Chile to Europe are promoting it as one of the season’s most anticipated high street drops.
For fans of Chavarria’s main line, early reviews suggest the silhouettes, attitude and emotional charge feel authentic, simply translated into a more accessible, ready to buy context. For Zara, the collaboration shows how designer tie ups can be used not just to chase hype, but to engage deeply with culture and representation, while still delivering clothes meant to be worn hard and loved for years.
