WHO DECIDES WAR SS21 Focuses on Intricate Deconstruction
Joey Bada$$’ spoken word poem is laid atop the show video.
WHO DECIDES WAR‘s seasonal fare is never straightforward. Led by Everard Best and Tela D’Amore, the apparel line is informed by intricately crafted layers of cotton, leather and canvas, aggressively juxtaposing seams and textiles with imposing results. Spring/Summer 2021, “A Still, Small Voice,” is the brand’s first offering to include womenswear and its lookbook is accompanied by a lengthy video soundtracked by Joey Bada$$‘ original spoken word poem.
Anchored by the label’s signature flared denim jeans, WHO DECIDES WAR SS21 draws particular influence from the Bible’s 1 Kings 19:11-13. This plays into the collection’s design ethos, which yields “common fabrics constructed together in an unconventional yet wearable way,” explains the press release.
Lace accents, embroidered appliqué and stained glass imagery appears throughout, demonstrating the label’s new construction techniques that both elevate its signature garment and remain rooted in familiar shapes. Ragged, cropped knitwear is layered underneath immense ponchos and atop extended shirts, complementing the jeans’ ragged threads and adding earth-toned flair. The menswear, technically genderless, is bolstered by an array of womenswear items that include a new baggy trouser cut, crinkled dresses and translucent bodysuits that even wrap the hands.
“We wanted to hone in on elevating our imagery and creating staple imagery to be embroidered and used widely as thematic motifs for collections to come,” Best and D’Amore explain in the statement. “We chose [to set the collection at] the castle because of its grandness and serenity. We wanted to imagine an escape from everything going on in the world at large, even if for a moment. We wanted to create something that opened the conversation between royalty and Black youth.”
Over the summer, WHO DECIDES WAR issued a capsule in honor of Pop Smoke.
