Ev Bravado Debuts New Label at SS20 Runway Presentation
WHO DECIDES WAR delivers DIY denim and lavish layering pieces.
Virgil Abloh-affiliated DIY designer Ev Bravado has impressed major retailers and fashion-focused youth alike with his unique denim treatments and bespoke T-shirts for several years, building his brand from a word-of-mouth sensation to a Barneys-approved imprint. For Spring/Summer 2020, the emerging designer is reformatting his approach to fashion, restructuring his brand into a seasonal expression of his inimitable design ethos, now named WHO DECIDES WAR.
Dubbed “Fall From Grace,” the debut collection takes cues from the biblical stories of the man’s banishment from Garden of Eden as the result of original sin. “WHO DECIDES WAR is a new beginning, so I wanted to start with this origin story,” Bravado, née Everard Best, said in a statement. “Fashion is about clothing and WHO DECIDES WAR is very much about the clothes and the construction and details, but at the end of the day, it’s always about a message. Our logo is an anti-666 graphic. There are some logos and graphics out there that draw from things that are dark and negative, and people don’t really think about the message in fashion anymore. They celebrate what’s hot and hyped, even if it’s something like a 666 logo. This is our counter to that; we’re here to celebrate something that’s about the good of the world. Something that means something higher.”
With a star-studded guest list that included Abloh, Jerry Lorenzo, J Balvin, John Elliott and Heron Preston, the collection delivered a host of Bravado’s signature design techniques, tweaked for the expansive offering. Sustainable textiles, like organic Italian silk, are shaped into raw-hemmed hooded jackets, layered blazers, draping overalls and ultra-thin long-sleeved shirts, brought to life by dyes made from tea and coffee or stark screen-printed graphics.
Militaristic inspiration informs the asymmetric cargo pants and velcro-strapped vests, while Bravado’s distressed jeans return in knee-paneled iterations, slashed at the knee, emblazoned with thematic text or riddled with patchwork. Collaborative PUMA shoes reinforce the designer’s sporty inclination and lend a street-friendly touch to the lofty embroidery and slouchy knitwear seen above.
Check out WHO DECIDES WAR’s initial lookbook and front row images above.
Elsewhere at Paris Fashion Week, we beheld Thom Browne’s ingenius elevated tailoring.
