WHO DECIDES WAR SS24: “ALTERATIONS CONSULTANTS”

Throughout this collection, Bravado and D’Amore touched on multiple themes in addition to their consistent luxury apparel – one being the Victorian era. The trademark arches made their debut on lace corsets and bell-shaped dresses with gloves and arm sleeves.

In addition to their iconic Bullet Bag, they debuted sleek bags that were cohesive with the corsets – with arches being connected by string and lace. ALTERATIONS CONSULTANTS also included a subtle, yet already very much talked-about cowboy boot. From the ankle-up, the boots are black leather embossed with the original WHO DECIDES WAR arch on the side. From the ankle down is a python skin-like pattern.

Paparazzi came in hot as the star-studded show saw attendees like Ice Spice, Central Cee, Teyana Taylor, the Woods family, Quavo, Swae Lee, Dave East, PJ Tucker, Fabolous, Lala Anthony, Jalen Green, Draya Michele, KidSuper, and many more.

As the brand continues to evolve, expect to continue to see the same maximalist motifs – but pay more attention to the little details like buttons, embellishments, dyes, laces, and finishings. While the brand has taken off on an insane scale since 2019, WHO DECIDES WAR is not stopping anytime soon.

What can we expect from SS24: ALTERATIONS CONSULTANTS?

Ev – I think the main thing for this season has been refinement for us. There’s a lot more emphasis on tailoring and subtle aspects, whereas a lot of people expect us to be extremely maximalist all the time. We’re trying to find a balance between the subtle details and our over-the-top embroidery, distressing, and so on.

Do you have any favorite pieces or looks from the new collection?

Téla – We’re showing a full offering of womenswear matching the men’s looks. I’m really excited about the nuanced corsetry that we’ve put together I guess is slightly trending but very different from what’s out there currently.

What’s your creative process and how do you guys work together?

Ev – For us, we always start with soul searching, which normally begins right at the end of every show. You always have some zany ideas right after, but we take a minute, recalibrate, connect with the world around us, and find the story that we’re trying to channel through the next couple of months through the medium of clothing. It’s just a lot of soul searching and finding a story that resonates with everyone that we can draw from organically and tell that story to everyone else.

How long did it take to make this collection?

Ev – We started ideating in March, which was right after our last show. Then we started sampling in late May.

Many athletes and celebrities wear WHO DECIDES WAR. How are you able to cater to luxury and everyday looks at the same time?

Ev – The whole motif of our brand is Americana seen through the lens of a person of color. That being said, that message is very multifaceted. We have super highly distressed, detailed garments and then there are more simple things like screen-printed garments.

Téla – Where we began, we were creating from a place that didn’t have any kind of foundation. We were creating from a place that would be considered the most raw version. I don’t want to say streetwear, I don’t feel like we’re streetwear, but we kind of started the same way that any streetwear would. It started out as ideas and putting one foot in front of the other, then refusing to compromise on our vision and making sure that it was something that was really succinct, though people were trying to get us to cater to these other things. We catered to our vision, which ended up being a culmination of everything that we’ve been seeing, which has been this high luxury perspective. Being able to be mentored by Virgil and being ushered into these crazy spaces like prepping for a Louis show…It’s creating from that and those experiences where it’s exactly how we cater to that wide spectrum because that’s what we are.

Our brand is Americana seen through the lens of a person of color.

When you’re sketching out looks and ideas with your team, what does that collaboration mean to you when you’re all able to complete these collections?

Téla – It’s everything. Without our team, we wouldn’t be able to do this. Both of us know how to do almost everything, but there’s no ‘I’ in ‘team.’ We can’t act like we have the time for everything at all. So to be able to partner with people and trust what other people want to see this thing through just like us is an incredible feeling. It’s really something that you can’t thank people enough for. That kind of collaboration to be able to do that; It started with us just trusting in each other and knowing that we had something special and if it could be developed, really honed in on, and focused on. To have people come in and be just as excited about it as you is really something that’s indescribable.

You’re known for the stained glass arches. How do you maintain your themes while also being able to be more versatile every season?

Ev – I think it’s just finding new mediums to translate the stained glass window into. You’ll see in the collection that there’s a lot of hardware that utilizes the stained glass. It’s the same logo but presented in a different format. Every season we ask how we can take this to the next level. Certain things have been an ideation from last season. The rivets were something we really wanted to use last season, but we didn’t have time to really make it come to fruition. This season we were able to really hone in on it and fully use it across a wide array of garments. Also, if you go anywhere in the world, you’ll see stained glass in any type of building and the art always varies. So for us, what is the imagery or the feeling we’re trying to emit this season and how do we channel that through the stained glass?

Do you usually get most of your inspiration from experiences, creativity just coming to your head, or both?

Ev – It’s both. Traveling is a major source of inspiration and also music, film, whatever it may be, can just spark an interest. A lot of times it’s conversation as well with friends and their ideas or feedback that they would have for us. We take that and put it into action, but I think life is the biggest motivator for us for sure.

Do you ever get direct inspiration or feedback from certain artists or athletes?

Téla – When we started, rest in peace his soul, Pop Smoke, we were working with him a lot. He was a genuine family friend and to be able to talk to him about what he wanted as he was developing and growing at such an astronomical rate. It was so sick to connect with him about pieces that he would be excited to wear and then start creating those. The whole reason why we started creating more leisure wear, sweatpants, and terry; Developing those really heavily was because he really wanted things to travel in and have cool, chill things. They still had the same motifs and still were WHO DECIDES WAR. He was really where we started taking direction from. From there we are always so serious about it not being one person dictating everything. We love to have people offer feedback. We have a friend who’s a jeweler. It’s a totally different industry, but he comes in and still offers certain notes of refinement and looks at the overall just as another artist…I feel like it’s so much about artists connecting. It’s a real release of ego to grow this thing, and for us, it doesn’t matter where it comes from. If you have a good idea, it might go into play for real.

What do you think makes WHO DECIDES WAR unique compared to other brands?

Ev – It really started from a place where we were creating to fill a void in what we were seeing in the marketplace. Every season as we inspire more and more brands, we try to one-up that outdo ourselves. We never want to be predictable. I think this season, people are going to be maybe a bit surprised to see the amount of tailoring or refinement whereas they used to see a lot of maximalism. Of course, those details are still there, but how do we translate this in a space where we are growing up and not always looking to be wearing the loudest thing in the room? But still, we have to stay true to our customer who expects that from us. It’s really just outdoing ourselves every season.

What does the future of WHO DECIDES WAR look like?

Ev – We have a major collaboration slated for the end of this year or early 2024, so that should be fun when that rolls out. But I think it’s sustaining growth, doing things the right way, not oversaturating the brand, and still having it be something that is very unique and special. People feel a piece of home, and that they have something they felt we spent a lot of time on so they could appreciate it.

Fashion

Happy 424 Day!

Simon Rasmussen — What's going on?

Guillermo Andrade — Right now we're just setting everything up.

So, what are you doing, is it a party?

Well, I kind of felt universally forced, right? Because 4/24/24, I was just like, I don’t really have a choice here. The stars also just kind of aligned, so to be honest, I got this settlement that came with a bunch of clothes so I had this idea to give back to the kids who fuck with us by allowing them to buy our shit first. Not handing stuff out for free, but to do it in a way where we could skip the middleman of the industry, so to speak, and not allow clothes to disappear into the abyss of Farfetch or whatever else. So what we’re going to do is a sort of warehouse sale, which we’ve never done before so that was really exciting for me. I didn’t want to do just another warehouse sale, so it’s like a sample sale turns rager. We teamed up with Adidas and a couple of other sponsors, then drinks, DJs, and a performance.

Sick, I love it.

Yeah. My dream sample sale. Also, it’s not just hoodies and t-shirts here in there, it’s proper collections from the past three seasons. I’m also not picking and choosing, trying to make it accessible, like this was the only way I could afford to buy shit when I was a kid, bro. Sample sales were the thing I looked forward to the most.

I feel you. In New York, there's the annual CDG sale, which is when I used to cop all my CDG.

The only time I could afford Rick. I flew to New York once for a Rick sample sale and I was like, Wow, I can't believe I got invited. And it was mental. I still have those pieces. I will never sell them. Not even because I got 'em cheap. It was also just really fun. Even on the flight to New York, I was like, I can't believe I'm going to New York for a sample sale, what a fucking loser I am. But it was like the adult version of when I was a kid and I was like, Wow, I can't believe I'm 20-something and I'm still doing the thing I was doing in high school. So I hope we can create moments like that for kids here in LA.

Yeah. I love that. It’s important to connect with them; they’re essentially creating the brand. If you don't have them, good luck.

I mean, yeah. Fuck, bro. It's cool that we've been around for this long. I mean, it got a little rocky there for a second I think, for all of us. So coming out of it, tomorrow is a celebration. And it’s like an odd day of the week. It's a Wednesday, super random. And now that we've set it up, the homies are all like, Yo, I'm coming. I'm coming. Let me jump on stage, let me do this, and that's really what it's always been about. It's not some other strategy to get likes on the internet.

That’s how the best things happen, you just couldn’t help yourself. It was intuitive.

Yeah, it all came together in a really nice way.

Would you say that’s how 424 started as well? I remember we met in like 2010 on Fairfax and I was visiting with Rasmus…

Oh bro, it’s probably the time when I started the branch… do you remember Cecilia from Black Dakini? She’s the one that introduced me to CIFF and honestly, I didn’t even care what she was doing, I was just like, I’m coming, I’ll go with you. She said she’d give me half of her booth and I said, Awesome count me in. At the time, I had just gotten my green card and I wasn't allowed to ever leave America, so Copenhagen was one of the first cities I went to when I could finally travel. I mean, you see what we did at CIFF bro? It became our fucking hub for half a decade.

That was a moment for sure.

I remember the first account I got was Antonioli, and he came super gangster, being like, You're going to sell me these clothes. And I was like, bro, I didn't come to sell clothes. I'm just kind of catching a vibe with my homie and I made these things. And he's like, No, you're going to sell it to me. And then I was like, Oh my god that’s Claudio Antonioli. So then I went home, I googled wholesale, and figured that shit out. [laughs]

[Laughs]

Like you said, I couldn't help myself, but I didn't just make t-shirts and hoodies either. I was really on my Rick wave, so I made my version of the Rick things. It was that meets like The Boondock Saints, because I'm still a little bit of a Cali bro, sort of rock kid, but not really. I like hip-hop, but I like the way the rock stars look. I like the contrast. I thought it was cool. After that, I just never stopped.

It was clear to me when I first met you that you were onto your own thing in LA. It made a lot of sense, and it was so cool. It was before 424 was its own brand; you just had the store and this really cool curation.

It was all my shit, bro. I was very, very invested in sharing all of these things that I was finding from all over the world, like Astrid Anderson. She was one of those designers at the time, so important to 424. The connection to Copenhagen specifically for me was huge. I had a big fan base there. It was incredible. And then here in LA, we were sharing the things that we were a part of and finding; it was still the early days of Fear of God, Rhude, Martine Rose. A lot of these brands, we were the first store to ever sell it — we were selling Hood By Air on the West Coast.

You had Rick as well, I remember.

Oh yeah. It took me a long time. But I got Rick, bro. By the time I had to close the store on Fairfax, I already had a Raf Simons account. I had reached my ultimate dream. It was really all the stuff I wanted to wear at the time. It was dope. The best of the best.

We had an office magazine newsstand in there as well.

Oh yeah, we did! I came to visit the one you had, and I was like, Yo, I got to bring this whole fucking thing over here. But yeah, in LA, after two days people forget you exist, but everyone’s been super supportive. We’re all 10 years older now. We've been around forever at this point.

It can be dangerous to take those breaks when you’re figuring shit out, but there’s something very genuine to this comeback you’re having.

Thank you, thank you. We’ve been in and out of those fucking showrooms in Paris for long enough. I've been in and out of these factories for the past 10 years of my life. We had to figure something out. And I think now really diving in, being in Italy full time and being there to develop these products over time, I think that the whole thing just really shows the suppliers respect you more. The people who are making your goods understand why you're making them. And I think now I finally got to the place where I'm not making Italian things, I’m making my clothes, I'm making Cali-centric shit, but with that European technicality and execution. With this Fall / Winter collection, it clicked.

So what’s the vision for the next year? What are you manifesting?

I'm just fucking relentless, bro. This is the way I want to live my life. Now that we are more aligned, more prepared, and have more experience, moving forward it is just more of becoming a fully functioning company that can provide and create opportunities for all of the people around me. We’ve been operating just on instinct for a long time.

Sustaining a business is scary, trust me I know.

Scary as fuck, dog. I just opened a store next to Bottega, bro, and it’s like what am I even doing? You have to just believe in the thing you're doing more than anybody else.

100%, and it seems like that’s what you’re doing.

And fashion’s kind of a competitive sport, as much as people don’t think it is. We can reach a certain level without losing ourselves. My biggest ambition at the moment is to create something that, when you leave one of our neighbors you come into our place you don’t feel that the level has been sacrificed at all. And it’s not easy.

Definitely. I wish I could be there tomorrow.

Thank you, bro. 10 years now. You’ve always shown me so much love. We have to do a booth or have the office part of the next 424 day. Shit let’s do a 424 day in New York.

That would be sick. Let's do it. I'm here. Let’s catch up soon.

Next season’s right around the corner so I’ll see you in Paris.

Yes, see you in Paris and Happy 424 day!

Fashion

Luis De Javier's Puta Takeover

April 25, 2024

Last night with Luis De Javier, guests were overheard confirming this generation's most vital conundrum: “If I’m cunt, I can still be pussy.” “And if you’re pussy, you can still be cunt.” This sentiment echoed throughout the night as we celebrated De Javier’s first-ever streetwear collection, "Puta". We spent seven hours at Ella Funt at a dinner turned party that only he could’ve thrown (co-hosted by emcee). It was too dark for even the most aspiring-to-look-mysterious of us to wear sunglasses inside. Under the semi-oppressive flash of party photographers, we danced as much as the space would allow, drank tequila out of teacups and kissed each other on the cheeks with a vaguely European intimacy. “I’m doing streetwear!” De Javier could be heard exclaiming — whether it be in disbelief or excitement, we couldn’t tell you.

Words and photos by Izzy Capulong

The Spanish-born London-based designer has been well-loved for his genderless tailoring, latex mastery, and overall message of empowerment. Dressing everyone from ravers to A-listers, De Javier’s latest drop pushes his design repertoire to a new level. “While designing for my celebrity clientele and showcasing my creations on the runway has always been my dream,” he notes, “It’s equally important to me that my brand resonates with a wider, more diverse audience.” While this collection’s medium has shifted from corsets to sweatshirts, the classic LDJ avant-garde sensibilities remain. Bikinis and booty shorts are shamelessly emblazoned with “PUTA,” blazers are constructed with ample shoulder padding, and I had my eye on the cheekily-named “Faguette Bag.”

The Puta collection will be available exclusively on emcee.

Fashion

Nadia Lee Cohen Celebrates Paris Texas Launch at the Chateau

To celebrate the launch, Cohen and founder and creative director of Paris Texas, Annamaria Brivio hosted an intimate dinner at the Chateau Marmont pictured below. Arman Naféei entertained guests throughout the evening with a special playlist he curated for the occasion.