The spirit of Latinidad continues to thrive in New York, especially in menswear, where designers like Willy Chavarria and Luar’s Raul Lopez have become champions of inclusivity within the Latino landscape. And so does Mexican designer Patricio Campillo, who made his NYFW debut with his brand Campillo with his first runway show.
Campillo may be new to the New York scene but he isn’t to fashion, having entered in 2016 when he founded his brand under the name The Pack, changing it a year later to Campillo, with an aesthetic influenced by his childhood, the contemporary Mexican artistic wave, and traditional Charro culture.
Campillo is the first Mexican designer to be short-listed for the LVMH Prize, where he is a semifinalist this year, with the winner to be revealed in Paris on Tuesday.
His spring 2025 collection was inspired by volcanoes in Mexico, and the impact they’ve had on the environment, on society, and on culture. “I was very interested in those subtleties and the differences that exist between when a volcano is not active versus when it’s active. It’s about peacefulness. It’s all serenity, versus all the violence that can come from the same place,” said Campillo backstage.
Those subtleties translated into ombré techniques, washes on all denim looks, textures on leathers and embroidery details on suiting.
The lineup was heavy on tailoring, but infused with Charro culture. There were curvier silhouettes in suiting; pants with overlays of curved fabric, which added dimension and weight, and adaptations of the minimal structures of a Charro jacket to create square-like sleeveless jackets, asymmetric tops in distressed leathers and skirt-like overlays on top of trousers — all while retaining a healthy balance of masculinity and femininity.
“New York is the only capital where there’s a potential to create a Latino identity, that’s why New York is relevant right now — there’s a community and it just feels like you can build something here,” said Campillo.
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