You’ll find traces of Raul Lopez in every single Luar piece. Sure, that can be said of many brands, but it feels especially true of the CFDA Award-winning label. Luar has been able to build a devoted following around collections titled in Spanish and handbags named after his grandmother because they feel so personal, so honest, and so distinctly Lopez. Fans connect with the queer lens through which the designer sees the world through (see: fall 2024’s exploration of metrosexuality) and can recognize the Latinx and diasporic references that seep into the collections (like the chucheros blasting the punk spring 2025 soundtrack).
“I always say this is a platform to bring people together, immerse people in a beautiful experience, and enjoy a time of prosperity, love, abundance, and joy,” Lopez told reporters backstage after his headlining slot on Monday night during New York Fashion Week. “I want people to feel that when they come to my shows.”
The fall 2025 collection is titled “El Pato”; “pato” translates literally to “duck” in Spanish, but it’s also a word used derogatorily against queer people, particularly gay men. Lopez works to reclaim the slur he himself was subjected to growing up in Brooklyn in the ’80s and ’90s by taking the titular Pato on a hero’s journey. Much like Hans Christian Andersen’s famous duckling, he grows into—and flourishes with—the elegance of a swan over the course of the show.
Pato began his odyssey in a creamy ivory slim-fit suit with a slouched neckline exposing one shoulder, a form-hugging embossed set, and an oversize gray jersey polo over trousers with a white feathered puffer jacket. The feathered elements continued to build, adorning belts, headwear, boots, bags, and even nails. The exaggerated rounded collar on a white blazer, the skewed curve of a gray knit’s neckline, and cocoon-like hooded cape called to mind eggs hatching. The silhouettes then moved into territory that felt stronger, more resolute, and more confident: strong-shouldered black leather moto mini dresses, trousers that curved outward, a sweatshirt that reads “I Talk Shit About You in Spanish.”
Materially, Lopez works primarily with wool, manipulating it to create the look of tech fabric and to enhance its texture for fall. “My mom worked in the Garment District back in the day as a seamstress, but my dad was a construction worker,” he explained. “I love merging the two worlds with the detailing, almost like building a home, feeling the essence of that clothing being a home.” From their seats, spectators including Lisa Rinna, Honey Balenciaga, and NLE Choppa watched as the looks became richer in material and deeper in color as the protagonist reached his final form.
“A lot of the references come from my childhood, like how a gay boy would play with his mom’s jewelry and accessories,” Lopez added. “We wanted to do how they do the thing with the towel for the hair. The shoes are a mule, but he wanted a thigh-high—so he would take all her jewelry and tape it around his legs and create all these silhouettes and shapes.” (Speaking of accessories, it looks like there may be a few additions to Luar’s family of handbags.)
Beyond honoring his younger self, Lopez also exalted the people who paved the way for him and his community through the casting (which included ballroom legend Stephanie Milan, Puerto Rican model Joan Smalls, and friends of the designers) and music. (The show opened with Willie Colón’s “El Gran Varón,” which tells the story of a trans woman named Simón who dies of what’s understood to be AIDS.)
“Especially in this administration, I’m not going back in the closet for nobody,” he said. “I had to fight enough to get where I’m at, in an era when it was not cool, where I had strikes against me for being Latino, being flamboyant, being gay, dressing the way I dress. We want to tell people we’re here, and we’re not going anywhere. At the end of the day, we fucking built this shit.”
