Sneaker News Téla D’Amore, co-founder of Who Decides War, is launching her first sneaker collaboration with Jordan Brand, the Jordan Flight Court, on December 5th (the EQL raffle opens at 12pm ET HERE). She discussed some of the finer details of the process with Sneaker News; see the quick interview below.
Sneaker News: When two people are behind one brand, a yin-yang dichotomy usually comes into play. What are some aspects of Who Decides War that reflect your strong suits, and what parts does Ev contribute more to?
Téla D’Amore: Everything is equal. There is a constant exchange of ideas, feedback, and edits that is often hard to pin down. We work very closely and quite seamlessly with each other.
In an interview with CFDA, you were told that people feel like characters when they wear WDW. Does that apply to sneakers? Any stories from your youth that can speak to that?
WDW is part of me, and I’ve fully submerged myself into this partnership and the design process. It was only right that I focused on making sure that there was a through line in the creative synergy between garments and footwear. It was entirely my intention to transmit the same emotions through footwear as I hope to emit through apparel.
How did the relationship with Jordan Brand first start? Can you roadmap that starting point to officially collaborating with them on a shoe?
Bennett Shaw and Tiffany Crews called me and showed immense love from the start. I then pulled up to the Nike campus and the design team let me go crazy in the studio and materials lab. I designed 6 iterations of the Flight Court that day. Massive thank you to Nate, Quyhn, and Khadijah on the design team for letting me rock out.
Can you describe your design of the Flight Court?
When I was first presented with the shoe, I immediately saw a skate shoe. I also saw an everyday, multipurpose shoe. It felt like I was designing another pair of denim; paying attention to stress points, adding darning and reinforcements, using materials that only feel better with age – both visually and functionally – while still holding visual interest through texture and tonal accenting.
What are your top 3 Jordans of all-time?
Flight court, duh. They really did something with that lil’ jacket on the 16. My ultimate favorite Jordans are the 4 and 5, equally. My dream sneaker collaboration is the Air Jordan 5.
The Full Breakdown
After a debut at New York Fashion Week earlier this September, the Who Decides War x Jordan Flight Court designed by Téla D’Amore is ready for an official retail launch on December 5th.
The Jordan Flight Court is one of the newest models to emerge from Jordan Brand’s off-court/off-legacy lifestyle footwear line-up. Touted for its street/skate appeal with roots in basketball, the Flight Court is serendipitously a perfect canvas for a collaborative project with D’Amore, who herself grew up surrounded by the culture of both sports.
Her execution of the model begins with a soft suede upper with some distressed accents that conjure the same luxurious yet gritty attitude of D’Amore’s personal vision. A touch of elegance appears via the velvety fabric that lines the interior, which also houses the Who Decides War emblem on the insole and the motivational messaging “The World Is Your Court” embroidered behind the tongue.
Perhaps the keynote detail of this Flight Court design is the tear-away portion on the back, giving you the option to display the Jumpman silhouette with or without the temple.
Jordan Brand confirms the Téla D’Amore x Jordan Flight Court is set to release on December 5th, 2024; stay tuned for further details and check out the official images of the shoe just ahead.
WHERE TO BUY
Who Decides War x Flight Court SP
US 12/05/2024 Thursday
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| Retailer | Release type | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Who Decides War | EQL | EQL |
