Raw War is a responsibly made streetwear brand founded in 2016 by Antoinette Wedia Raphael during her studies of fashion design at Curtin University in Perth, Australia but it started being sold internationally only recently.
The brand’s name originates from the initials of its founder/creative director (Antoinette Wedia Raphael-AWR) though rearranged to create the words “Raw” and “War.”
Raw War emphasizes oversized silhouettes, bold and graphic prints, saturated color palettes and a subverted manipulation of fabrics and construction. The collection consists of about 30 pieces offered twice a year along with a few occasional capsules. Half of the items are aimed at men and half at women and include mini skirts and crop tops, although many pieces can be worn by any gender.
The brand also produces denim pieces that count for around 20% of the whole offer. They are mostly jackets and miniskirts printed with Raw War’s own distinctive graphics.
The entire collection is made according to sustainable and socially sustainable criteria. For instance, most of the design process occurs digitally through laptops and iPads and therefore consumes less paper than traditional ones. The collection is made with 100% cotton and most of the prints it carries use digital printing techniques through which no ink or dye is wasted during the print process. In addition no ink residue needs to be washed, therefore no toxins are released in the environment. Most of the zippers used are by Riri, which according to the designer, last longer.
Raw War offers both ready-to-wear and custom made-to-fit pieces. Ready-to-wear garments are made in a small factory in Perth where the workers are longtime expert seamstresses. As the whole sewing production is kept internally the items should last longer. Custom made-to-fit pieces, on the other hand, are created in-house by the Raw War studio team. The customer has the opportunity to book a fitting appointment where the desired product can be fitted to their liking.
The brand is sold from $190 AU$ (€116) at retail for a cut-and-sewn T-shirt to AU$500-AU$700 (€300-€430) for a bomber jacket. Currently Raw War is not sold in physical stores but through its own e-commerce, the rawwar.com.au store.
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