Boss Techie

The 25 Most Influential Postwar Women’s Wear Collections

A group of fashion experts — editors, historians and a designer — convened over Zoom to make a list of the clothes that shaped the world.

 By Nick Haramis, Max Berlinger, Rose Courteau, Jessica Testa and Kin Woo

Who Decides War On The Complicated Democracy of Fashion Week

Four people began to create a line, but the rest stayed huddled latching onto the door. One man who’d been tugging at the handle consistently shouted at security: “Don’t put your hands on me, bro. You’re going way above your job.”

Witnessing the determined and off-kilter approach of entrance to a runway show meant to celebrate art in all its glory — especially when you take into account the enduring amount of time it takes to produce such a thing — felt morbidly ironic. The chaos at the door that ensued for over an hour has more to do with people wanting to feel important through sitting at these shows; They don’t care about the fashion. They care to say that they were there. If they did respect the former they’d approach the situation differently. Instead, ego and the need for exclusivity barreled through the doors.

Eventually, once it was confirmed the show started — with supermodel Alton Mason opening the runway — people texted their friends, called their Ubers, and trickled away in hopes of catching the next big moment.

Udo Salters/Getty Images

Ev Bravado and Téla D’Amore of Who Decides War are focused on building a legacy brand. With the love and support of Ev’s father and uncle (who were both tailors) and their yearning for a future world great enough to hold space for their five-year-old son Judah, the married duo is on a journey to make Who Decides War something that lasts — not just a brand that’s “here today and gone tomorrow.”

“It’s daunting being in the position where we’re this new, high-profile, young, budding brand,” Bravado tells Teen Vogue. “We know within the next five or 10 years there’s going to be someone else that’s going to be in our position and we’re going to be looked at as like the old heads, but at the same time, it’s like, ‘okay, we know we are driven creatively and we have a vision and a story.’ The bell curve doesn’t exist for us, you know?”

A once exclusive and slightly intricate key component on the trek to sartorial immortality is producing a runway show during the Spring/Summer or Fall/Winter seasons. A twenty-minute visual display might not seem urgent in the grand scheme of running a business, but in the fashion industry, it’s one of the many steps in solidifying your brand as one to know. Moreover, it’s the chance to put your designs in front of the right people. Whether that be through buzz-worthy charm that’ll have influencers and journalists talking about it for days to come or through intrinsically subversive, note-worthy clothes that have consumers ready to shop. The main takeaway each season is: Did our marketing work?

“We know we’re gonna pay a large amount to put on a show, but the amount of exposure we’re going to get off of it is worthwhile,” Bravado says.

Founded in 2018, Who Decides War is a culmination of artistry focused on the Black Americana experience. The brand was named one of 10 finalists for the 2023 CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund and is a favorite of rappers, athletes, and A-listers, including the late Virgil Abloh.

Is Fashion Week as We Know It Over Forever?

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