A Name with Meaning: The Origins of WhoDecidesWar
From Streetwear to Spiritual Statement
In a landscape saturated by brands that capitalize on trends, WhoDecidesWar emerges as a unique and unwavering force—blending fashion, philosophy, and protest into one. The brand was co-founded by Ev Bravado and Téla D’Amore, both deeply connected to New York’s underground culture and its roots in activism, art, and survival. But to understand the essence of WhoDecidesWar, one must start with the name itself. It's not just a label—it’s a question. A challenge. A call to consciousness.
The name poses a confrontation with authority, questioning systems of power—whether political, cultural, or spiritual. Who decides war? Who profits from it? Who suffers for it? Who benefits from violence, both literal and symbolic? This foundational idea underpins everything the brand creates. From the very beginning, Bravado and D’Amore rejected the commodification of culture that dominates much of mainstream fashion. Instead, they sought to create something deeper—clothing that speaks to the soul and resists silence.
Initially, Bravado gained attention through his earlier venture Murder Bravado, where he made waves with hand-detailed jeans and customized denim. But https://whodecideswars.com/ was the next evolution—more conceptual, more confrontational, and undeniably spiritual. It was born from the ashes of fashion norms and reconstructed as a voice for the marginalized. The founders didn’t just want to make clothes—they wanted to make history.
The Philosophy Behind the Fabric
Designing with Intention and Imperfection
What truly sets WhoDecidesWar apart is the philosophical backbone behind its aesthetic. The garments are not only visually stunning—they’re emotionally and symbolically charged. Each ripped jean, burnt edge, and stitched patch has a story to tell. Whether it's biblical symbolism, abstract art, or a critique of modern America, every thread is stitched with intention.
Unlike many labels that rely on machine-perfect minimalism, WhoDecidesWar embraces imperfection. The beauty of their garments often lies in what appears broken: raw hems, layered fabrics, asymmetric stitching, and expressive hand-painted details. These imperfections are a mirror of society—unpolished, flawed, and yet valuable in their humanity. The brand's choice of materials—denim, canvas, cotton—recalls working-class resistance and blue-collar grit. These aren’t just clothes; they’re statements of labor, struggle, and transformation.
Religious and spiritual references appear frequently, often in the form of crosses, angels, stained-glass-inspired motifs, or embroidered scripture. These references are not merely decorative—they explore the tension between faith and fear, salvation and sin. The design philosophy blends streetwear with theology, graffiti with gospel, and turns fashion into a philosophical dialectic.
For WhoDecidesWar, every garment is a vessel of memory. A wearable artifact. It doesn’t just dress the body—it arms the soul.
Craft as Protest: Denim as a Revolutionary Tool
Deconstruction, Rebirth, and Resistance
Denim has long been a symbol of rebellion. From the civil rights era to punk rock and hip-hop, it has clothed countless generations who dared to speak against power. WhoDecidesWar reinvents denim not just as fashion but as modern armor. Their use of deconstructed jeans, painted jackets, and rebuilt silhouettes represents more than style—it reflects the constant battle between destruction and creation.
Each denim piece is treated like a canvas—bleached, torn, embroidered, or painted by hand. The process is painstaking, often involving multiple steps that bring together artisanal techniques and futuristic vision. Many of their jeans feature “window panels” with glass-like inserts or mesh inlays, sometimes layered with images of angels or fire. These "windows" symbolize transparency in a world full of cover-ups, exposing not only fabric but also uncomfortable truths.
Their denim designs challenge the binary of luxury versus streetwear. While other brands may place denim in a luxury context with gold-plated buttons or name recognition, WDW reclaims it as a people's material. Denim becomes political. It becomes emotional. And most importantly, it becomes sacred.
This approach positions WhoDecidesWar not just as a designer of clothes, but as an architect of meaning. Denim is the message—and the medium.
Faith and Fire: The Spiritual Layers of WhoDecidesWar
Biblical Imagery and the Theology of Struggle
It’s impossible to ignore the overt spirituality that flows through WhoDecidesWar's work. Crosses, archangels, divine light, and scripture references frequently grace their garments and runway presentations. This religious symbolism is neither ironic nor kitschy; it's earnest, emotional, and deeply introspective. In a society where religion is often either politicized or commercialized, WDW reframes it as a tool for storytelling and survival.
Bravado, who is vocal about his Christian beliefs, channels his spirituality into the design process. This is most evident in pieces that resemble medieval relics or garments inspired by priestly robes. Their color palettes—gold, crimson, charcoal—evoke themes of sacrifice, divinity, and apocalypse. Garments become relics. Clothing becomes ceremony.
But the spiritual core of the brand goes beyond aesthetics. It’s about navigating trauma, seeking healing, and restoring humanity in a violent world. Many of the collections reference moral dualities: heaven and hell, judgment and forgiveness, war and peace. WDW frames faith not as a rigid institution, but as a language of resilience.
This bold fusion of theology and streetwear dares to suggest that fashion can be sacred. It invites the wearer not just to look good, but to feel something—to connect with higher purpose, and to remember that even in darkness, there is redemption.
Runway as Revelation: The Brand’s Iconic Presentations
Immersive Fashion Experiences with a Message
While most fashion shows are carefully choreographed commercial displays, WhoDecidesWar transforms the runway into a ritual. Each presentation is more like performance art than a marketing campaign. Models don’t just walk—they testify. Audiences don’t just watch—they witness.
In shows like “From the Eyes of God” or “American Hell,” WDW transformed ordinary spaces into divine sanctuaries or dystopian landscapes. Churches, abandoned buildings, and outdoor spaces were reimagined as spiritual battlegrounds where garments told the story of humanity’s fall and fight for grace. Lighting, sound, and movement were all choreographed to evoke awe and introspection. Gospel choirs sang. Sermons played. Tears were not uncommon.
These runways were immersive experiences that blurred the line between performance and prayer. The audience wasn’t just consuming fashion—they were participating in a reckoning. It’s a radical departure from traditional presentations, which often feel sterile and transactional. WDW shows are full of emotion, narrative, and provocation.
By centering Black models, queer artists, and underground musicians, the brand reclaims fashion space for those often pushed to the margins. Each show serves as a living archive, a spiritual revival, and a political protest all rolled into one.
When you attend a WhoDecidesWar show, you don’t leave with favorite looks—you leave transformed.
Culture and Collaboration: Bridging Communities Through Fashion
Building a Movement, Not Just a Brand
One of WhoDecidesWar's most defining strengths is its community-centered ethos. From its inception, the brand has prioritized collaboration over competition. It views fashion not as a solitary pursuit, but as a collective act—a way of amplifying marginalized voices and building meaningful cultural bridges.
Collaborations with cultural giants like Virgil Abloh helped catapult WDW into the spotlight, but the brand has never lost its grassroots soul. Whether it’s custom denim for musicians like Westside Gunn and Playboi Carti or shared runways with upcoming designers, WDW always centers authentic expression over commercial gain.
They’ve also cultivated strong ties within the art world. The brand’s pieces often appear in galleries, video installations, and photography series that interrogate themes of race, trauma, and liberation. In doing so, WDW refuses to be boxed into fashion. It’s visual art. It’s sculpture. It’s protest poetry.
Beyond aesthetics, the brand fosters mentorship and educational initiatives, especially for Black and Brown creatives in New York. Whether through internships, open studios, or workshops, WDW uses its platform to elevate others—not just itself.
In an era where clout often trumps character, WhoDecidesWar reminds us that real power comes from shared vision and genuine community.
Legacy in Motion: The Future of WhoDecidesWar
Writing a New Chapter in American Fashion
The legacy of WhoDecidesWar is still unfolding, but one thing is already clear: it’s rewriting the rules of fashion. In an industry often driven by profit margins and performative activism, WDW stands as a beacon of integrity, authenticity, and courage. It dares to speak truth in an age of silence. It dares to create in an age of consumption.
As the brand evolves, so too does its mission. Future collections are rumored to include expanded womenswear, footwear, and even global collaborations with artists and architects. But regardless of scale, the ethos will remain unchanged. It will still be about the battle for meaning in a meaningless world. The war for art, justice, and beauty.
WhoDecidesWar doesn’t just ask “who decides war?” It answers with fire, fabric, and faith. It fights against the commodification of culture and invites wearers into a deeper narrative—one of suffering, resistance, and divine possibility.
Fashion, in the world of WDW, is not frivolous. It is revolutionary. It is radical storytelling stitched into seams and sprayed onto denim. It is not seasonal. It is eternal.
And as long as wars are waged—on bodies, on beliefs, on beauty—WhoDecidesWar will keep showing up, armed with love, truth, and the artistry of rebellion.