There will always be grifters like him successfully fooling the fashion sheep into believing that he’s somewhat important— because to criticize his exploitation of performative identity/gender/race politics, while hustling the most basic merch at designer prices, makes you racist/homophobic/misogynist etc etc. He knows how to work the system. There was Kerby Jean-Raymond before him, and there will absolutely be another opportunist hustler in the waiting right now, after them. These types' business strategy seems to exist to get that Adidas corporations payday. They are the fashion equivalent of the worst DEI/EBT/Section 8 abusers. That he’s pushing 60 and still only relies on these performative juvenile aesthetics rather than seasoned, experienced and skilled designs, tells everyone all they need to now about his race-grifting ways. But fashion people have never been that bright anyway— and combined with next to nothing standards these days, not only New York-- but fashion, deserves him (… him and Paloma…).
I’d like to think that Willy’s brand is here in a twisted way as a reminder to others what the bottommost of the barrel looks like, and to always aim just a tad higher.