Victorian Romance Is Back, According to Who Decides War

Despite being one of the most-anticipated shows on the New York Fashion Week calendar, Who Decides War co-founder Téla D’Amore is relaxed. “It was a real moment of calm before this,” she says. “So it’s been amazing to come in here and see the machine in action,” gesturing at the sea of models, stylists, and fashion people making final touches of the SS25 collection before showtime. The clock was ticking, but things were moving in perfect order.

Perhaps her apparent ease is a byproduct of an incredible team and support system. Since its 2018 launch, D’Amore and her partner Ev Bravado have cultivated a cherished community of everyone from editors to A-listers who expect to come to each show for well, a show. “I really wanted to do less this time around—I feel like we’re always doing so much with regard to the experience,” D’Amore continues. “This time, I wanted to narrow everything down to just like the universal fundamentals: amazing music, amazing clothing, and amazing community.”

Paring down the experience allows attendees to walk into the Who Decides War world; which, this season transported us to the Victorian era. Drawing inspiration from the 1800s fashion and its impact on the Western world cultivated in a collection full of corsets, linen, lace, and earth tones.

Taking cues from the collection’s fabrics and hues, makeup artist Akiko Owada dreamt up a look that gave the brand’s signature edge a Victorian twist. White eyeshadow was dusted along the lids followed by striking silver pigment across the inner and outer corners of the eyes, “to catch the light and then kick it a little bit,” she says. Lips maintained a natural, not-glossy moisture.

Hair, on the other hand, was the brainchild of the mononym Rutger. “We wanted to create a style that had some elements of romance into the hair, but at the same time wanted to keep it really cool and young looking.” The result was a handful of fishtail braids pinned together and pulled back into a sort of mullet. Once in place, the look was finished with a bit of dry shampoo for a dusty vibe reminiscent of Victorian wigs. Shorter manes were similarly swept back away from the face, while male models received a clean fade—enhancing the wearer’s natural features.

“This is a new chapter for us in the sense that we’re really leaning into the fantasy of the world that we want to create,” Bravado says. And from the looks of the beaming attendees, as the show came to a close, this next phase was well-received.