Hood By Air
Hood By Air is a fashion and streetwear brand based in New York City co-founded by designers Shayne Oliver and Raul Lopez. It was launched in 2006 and took a hiatus 2017–2019.[1] Oliver left the brand in 2023.[2]
Brand
The designer was Shayne Oliver, a former student at
Hood By Air is notable for its collectively-driven creative output, collaborating with a large network of artists, performers, and other figures from the New York creative industries, as well as global brands. The brand has been the recipient of numerous fashion accolades and awards, including the LVMH Special Prize (2014)[10] and CFDA Swarovski Award for Menswear (2015).[11]
History
Founded in 2006 by Brooklyn-based designers Shayne Oliver and Raul Lopez, Hood By Air has gone from a t-shirt oriented streetwear project to a cult brand at the forefront of New York's fashion new guard. In 2006, Oliver was running a brand and blog under the name Elite Urban Brigade. Editorial collaborators on the blog included Akeem Smith and Mykki Blanco. Under Elite Urban Brigade, Oliver began printing one-off t-shirt designs, which he would sell at the New York streetwear store, aNYthing.[12]
During this period, Oliver met fellow designer Raul Lopez at an after school programme run by the Hetrick-Martin Institute in partnership with the Harvey Milk High School, which Oliver attended.[13] Oliver introduced Lopez to his early blueprint for a brand which could expand on his Elite Urban Brigade ideas. After developing the concept further, Oliver and Lopez began printing t-shirts, eventually releasing the designs under the name Hood By Air.
Whilst attending Harvey Milk High School, Oliver was accepted onto an art programme at New York University (NYU).[14] During this time he developed a strong link between his fashion concepts and music, which would underpin the Hood By Air brand and Oliver's creative career to date. During this time Oliver was a dancer and choreographer for the band Hercules and Love Affair[15] and would create costumes that he would wear as a dancer. Subsequently, Oliver designed merchandise for the band.[13]
After leaving NYU, Oliver attended the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT), but left after one semester.[16] In 2006 Oliver showed an early Hood By Air look at the artist Dash Snow’s gallery in Chelsea, New York.[17] Soon after, with an expanding fan base and an enthusiastic reception from fashion buyers, Hood By Air found its first stockists in OAK NYC [18] and Seven New York. Opening Ceremony[19] was also an early stockist of the brand.[12] In 2008, Hood By Air held its first presentation at artist Terence Koh’s A.S.S. gallery in Chinatown, New York.[20] Designer Telfar Clemens, who attended the show recalls, “it was kind of a peep show, and sort of like a block-party-slash-art-opening type of thing".[20] The presentation was an early example of what was to become a hallmark for the brand; a spectacle-driven approach that merges conventional runway shows with personality-driven performances and presentations.
In 2009 Hood By Air held its first official fashion presentation at OAK NYC, launching the Hood By Air Classics line.[18] This subcategory of the brand encompassed Hood By Air's graphic-based designs on t-shirts and basics, complimenting the brand's now increasing focus on ready-to-wear. The presentation featured a performance by Kid Cudi.[18] Soon after this presentation, Lopez left the brand. Oliver continued to build Hood By Air together with a core group of creative collaborators in New York. From 2009, whilst working on Hood By Air Oliver was involved with GHE20G0TH1K, a club night launched by Jazmin Soto, aka Venus X, in New York City. The party, which moved around venues in Williamsburg and the Lower East Side, brought together NYC's diverse creative communities and is widely celebrated as an influential party in the nightlife of the city. “We created a glamorous, fashion-friendly, art-friendly, freak fest,” said Soto. “Everyone was welcome and everyone felt cool there. Everyone liked it.”[20] The culture and community around GHE20G0TH1K has been a paramount influence on Oliver's designs and the Hood By Air brand. Venus X is credited by Oliver as a major contributor to the growth of culture around the brand. Oliver also met Venezuelen musician Alejandra Ghersi, aka Arca at GHE20G0TH1K, forming a relationship that led to the pair working together on a continued basis.
After a short hiatus, Oliver launched what he describes as the second iteration of the brand. Bringing filmmaker, Leilah Weinraub, on board as CEO the pair formulated business plans that led to a revised focus on fashion presentations. HBA's global brand ambassador, Ian Isiah, and Kevin Amato, the brand's casting director, remained collaborators. New additions to the team included Paul Cupo signing on as design director, and Akeem Smith join as head stylist. Zachary Ching, at the time creative director at VFILES, would also join the brand as its commercial director.[21] Oliver credits each of these figures as co-founders of the Hood By Air brand.
In May 2012, Hood By Air was included in Norwegian artist Bjarne Melgaard’s group show ‘Ideal Pole’ at Ramiken Crucible gallery, New York. Hood By Air created a ‘pop-up shop’ as part of the show, printing t-shirts with graphics that read ‘Bareback By Air / Classics’. The t-shirts appeared in an installation titled ‘Deferred Action’, by the artists Jo Barage and Clinton Ellies.[22]
A second season of HBA Classics followed, supported by launch events at the New York fashion retailer, VFILES. In June 2012, VFILES held an opening party for its shop at Mercer Street in New York City's SoHo. The event doubled as a relaunch event for Hood By Air, with Oliver and Venus X DJ’ing, and A$AP Rocky performing. The moment has been referenced by Complex as solidifying both HBA and VFILES as “relevant movements in fashion”.[23] VFILES would become known for stocking an assortment of emerging brands at the crest of a creative new wave in streetwear, including Virgil Abloh's Pyrex, Been Trill, and Fear of God, alongside Hood By Air. In the months following the relaunch moment, Hood By Air and Been Trill released a collaborative t-shirt that would be popularised through extensive exposure by A$AP Rocky, leading to a new frenzy around the brand. At the time, the hype around the product meant that Hood By Air was perceived as aligned with a streetwear fraternity, a notion which Oliver was dismissive of. According to the designer, the t-shirt was initially designed simply to be given to friends at a casual brunch, but became a “fucking phenomenon” [24] according to Oliver.
Shortly afterwards, in September 2013, Hood By Air presented its first
In October 2014 MoMA PopRally presented Id, a party performance and multimedia installation by Hood By Air, held at the Museum of Modern Art. The event was billed as “a performance masquerading as a party... Id is an interactive, semi-virtual experience that includes a theatre, a live stream, and a "humannequin" installation” [28] and featured performances by boychild and Mykki Blanco. Hood By Air was awarded the inaugural LVMH Special Jury Prize in 2014.[29]
In 2014, Hood By Air joined the
This would be a benchmark moment for this era of Hood By Air, and signified the arrival of a new period of growth for the brand. The same year, Shayne Oliver received the 2015 Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) Swarovski Award for Menswear.[11] Amidst the business growth under New Guards Group, however, Oliver felt a sense of creative regression as a consequence of focusing heavily on product, taking away from investing his energy into the cultural landscape that had always defined Hood By Air. After three seasons with New Guards Group, showing two to three collections per season, Hood By Air left the group and returned to New York in 2016.[30]
Back on home ground, Oliver set about recapturing the energy of the brand before its move to Italy. Re-orienting towards conceptual presentations meant he had the
Having re-engaged the spirit of the brand upon returning to New York City, Oliver and his team began to experience a new challenge; continuing the scale of the post-New Guards Group operation as a small, core team — most of whom were not fashion insiders or business people but artists, musicians, image-makers, and other figures from the New York creative industries with close ties to the brand and its cultural workings. While e-commerce continued to run efficiently during this period, the retail business had outsized its operators. The brand had reached new heights of popularity, spurred on by support from celebrities such as Rihanna who wore Hood By Air during a televised performance at the 2016 MTV Video Music Awards[34] In 2016, the brand released a capsule collection in collaboration with the pornographic video platform, Pornhub[35] the SS17 'Wench' collection.[36]
However, with external company interests calling for Oliver's design expertise, on April 6, 2017, Hood By Air announced that Oliver would be putting the brand on hold to take a new role at Helmut Lang.[4][37] Hood By Air entered a three-year period of hiatus.
Hiatus
Hood By Air remained on official hiatus between 2017 and 2020. During this time Shayne Oliver worked with several established fashion houses, as well as on personal creative projects.[30]
Helmut Lang
Prior to Hood By Air's final pre-hiatus show, Shayne Oliver was approached by Helmut Lang’s editor-in-residence, Isabella Burley, to take up a position at that brand as designer-in-residence. Only one month after Oliver had nullified his design responsibilities at Hood By Air he introduced his first offering under Helmut Lang, presenting the brand's Spring 2018 Ready-To-Wear collection in September 2017 at New York Fashion Week.[38] That same month, Helmut Lang also released the Helmut Lang Seen by Shayne Oliver Autumn Tour Merch collection, inspired by band tour merchandise.[39]
Diesel
Having completed his residency at
Colmar
In 2018 Oliver began to collaborate with heritage activewear label, Colmar. Applying his vision to the Colmar A.G.E (Advanced Garment Exploration) FW18 line, Oliver progressively reworked the brand's mountain attire, adding a sense of outsized surreality to conventional outdoors wear. Oliver described the collaboration as “juggling the iconic products of Colmar with my sense of performance and a unisex approach to wearing fashion”.[41]
2020 return
In July 2020, Oliver announced the official return of Hood By Air. In an accompanying statement, the designer stated, “gentrification leaves no physical spaces for new, influential ideas to exist or reside. So Hood By Air will be a place for these ideas to have a home.”[42]
In March 2021, the brand fully relaunched with an advertising campaign helmed by supermodel Naomi Campbell.[43]
The brand relaunched with a new structure consisting of four distinct components: ‘Hood By Air' maintains its position as the brand's elevated fashion offering; ‘HBA’ exists as direct-to-consumer product released under a streetwear-aligned ‘drop’ schedule; ‘Museum’ refers to archival pieces from the original Hood By Air brand, reinterpreted by guest designers-in-residence; and Anonymous Club is a creative studio driven by a collective of talent, with the purpose of engineering Hood By Air's wider brand narrative through ongoing collaborations and activations.[42] The brand's 2020 relaunch announcement was accompanied by the release of a limited edition t-shirt and cash card designed in collaboration with person-to-person mobile payment company Cash App.[44] Proceeds from the t-shirt sales were donated to several charities, including Black Trans Femmes in the Arts, Emergency Release Fund, and Gays & Lesbians Living In A Transgender Society.[45]
In March 2021, the brand further signalled its new visual era with an advertising campaign helmed by supermodel Naomi Campbell. The campaign announced a new ‘Prologue’ phase for the brand. In April 2021, as part of the ‘Prologue’ phase, Hood By Air released a new series of products under the capsule title ‘Veteran’. The product was released in five ‘drops’ emulating the streetwear spirit that Hood By Air has been connected with in the past.[46] Intended as a segue between the brand's past and future, the ‘Prologue’ phase retrospectively pays tribute to a list of ‘characters’, each of which represents a different era of the Hood by Air brand.
As of 2021, Hood By Air is run by a board of directors including Shayne Oliver and Edison Chen, who has taken over the role of CEO. The brand remains an independent entity.[47]
Designs and shows
Hood By Air has received widespread praise and positive reception for its progressive design values and uncompromising aesthetics. The brand has been noted for its diverse
In a 2015 article, Oliver's designs were described by
Hood By Air is known for the performative nature of its fashion presentations, using the runway as a multifaceted performance space that brings together diverse elements from the brand's cultural mood board. In the past, notable runway appearances have been made by rapper, A$AP Rocky, performance artist, boychild, and German artist, Wolfgang Tillmans, whilst the music for several Hood By Air shows has been composed by Venezuelan musician Arca, who has also DJ’d at the shows.
The brand focused on gender-neutral designs, a mode described by Oliver as "powerwear".
Oliver's creative collaborations included an installation with artists Ava Nirui and Alex Lee. For this, Nirui and Lee commissioned outfits by Hood By Air and designer
The brand also collaborated with musicians
Fashion shows and collections
● Spring 2014 Menswear (New York Fashion Week)[52]
● Fall 2014 Menswear (New York Fashion Week)[53]
● Fall 2014 Ready-to-Wear (New York Fashion Week)[54]
● Spring 2015 Ready-to-Wear (Part 1: New York Fashion Week, Part 2: Paris Fashion Week,[55] Part 3: MoMA, New York[56])
● Fall 2015 Ready-to-Wear (New York Fashion Week)[57]
● Fall 2015 Menswear (New York Fashion Week)[58]
● Pitti Uomo 87 Presentation (Florence, Italy)[31]
● Spring 2016 Menswear (Paris Fashion Week)[59]
● Spring 2016 Ready-to-Wear (New York Fashion Week)[60]
● Fall 2016 Ready-to-Wear (New York Fashion Week)[61]
● Spring 2017 Menswear (Paris Fashion Week)[62]
● Spring 2017 Ready-to-Wear (New York Fashion Week)[63]
Brand collaborations
● Been Trill [65]
● Colette
● Corgi[67]
● Frye[71]
● Starter
Awards
See also
References
- ^ a b c Amarca, Nico (April 25, 2017). "Why Streetwear Needed Hood By Air". Highsnobiety.
- ^ Shayne Oliver Exits Design Duties at Hood By Air, Forms New ‘Corporation’ Business of Fashion, ROBERT CORDERO, 22 June 2023
- Business of Fashion.
- ^ a b c Shorey, Eric (April 6, 2017). "Hood By Air Is Going On Hiatus". Nylon. Archived from the original on April 8, 2017. Retrieved September 2, 2018.
Hood By Air had always stunned at fashion shows with spectacular displays that in 2014 included a live vogue performance. The company's aesthetic of dark, "banjee," and deconstructed looks had first crystalized in secret party spaces like GHE20 G0THIK and eventually transformed into a CFDA-winning label.
- ^ a b Hawgood, Alex (April 10, 2013). "Hood by Air Has a Fashion Moment". The New York Times.
- Complex. February 2013.
- ^ Da Costa, Cassie (March 16, 2018). "Leilah Weinraub's Radical Cinema of Privacy in "Shakedown"". The New Yorker. Retrieved November 11, 2018.
- ^ Eckardt, Stephanie (May 23, 2017). "Hood by Air's Leilah Weinraub on the Debut of Her Film About a Black Lesbian Strip Club". W Magazine. Retrieved November 11, 2018.
- ^ a b Stone, Matthew (February 13, 2015). "embracing all ages, races, genders and tribes on the hood by air runway". i-D. Retrieved July 2, 2021.
- ^ a b "LVMH announces the winners of the LVMH Prize for Young Fashion Designers 2014". LVMH. May 28, 2014. Retrieved July 2, 2021.
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- ^ a b c "Hood By Air Classics Launch Party". HYPEBEAST. January 22, 2009. Retrieved July 2, 2021.
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- ^ a b c Dazed (December 17, 2019). "A collective, anarchic history of Hood By Air". Dazed. Retrieved July 2, 2021.
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- ^ "- IDEAL POLE by Bjarne Melgaard". www.ramikencrucible.com. Retrieved July 2, 2021.
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- ^ KERWIN FROST TALKS WITH HOOD BY AIR FT SHAYNE OLIVER AND IAN ISIAH (EPISODE 5), retrieved July 2, 2021
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- ^ "MoMA PopRally Presents Hood by Air: Id | MoMA". The Museum of Modern Art. Retrieved July 2, 2021.
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- ^ a b "In Florence, a Fearless Take on Tradition From Hood by Air". Vogue. January 15, 2015. Retrieved July 2, 2021.
- ^ Nnadi, Chioma. "Hood By Air Fall 2016 Ready-to-Wear Collection". Vogue. Retrieved July 2, 2021.
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- ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved July 2, 2021.
- ^ a b Breslin, Susannah. "How A Porn Company And A Fashion Brand Shocked New York Fashion Week". Forbes. Retrieved March 4, 2020.
- ^ "Hood By Air: SS17 NYFW". Highsnobiety. September 12, 2016. Retrieved July 2, 2021.
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- ^ Hope Allwood, Emma (September 12, 2017). "Shayne Oliver's Helmut Lang makes next-level NYFW debut". Dazed Digital.
- ^ "The Helmut Lang Seen by Shayne Autumn Tour Merch Collection Offers a Novel Way to Show You're With the B(r)and". Vogue. September 11, 2017. Retrieved July 2, 2021.
- ^ "Shayne Oliver Unveils a New Capsule Collection for Diesel in Paris". Vogue. March 4, 2018. Retrieved July 2, 2021.
- ^ "Shayne Oliver Teams Up With Colmar For Skiwear Collection". PAPER. September 1, 2018. Retrieved July 2, 2021.
- ^ a b "Hood By Air is Officially Coming Back This Thursday". Highsnobiety. July 14, 2020. Retrieved July 2, 2021.
- ^ Yotka, Steff (March 3, 2021). "Hood By Air Relaunches Its Ready-to-Wear, Starring Naomi Campbell". Vogue. Retrieved March 12, 2021.
- ^ Yotka, Steff (July 16, 2020). "Hood by Air Returns With a T-Shirt, Cash Card, and Expansive Plans for the Future". Vogue. Retrieved March 12, 2021.
- ^ a b Davis, Dominic-Madori. "Pioneering luxury streetwear brand Hood By Air is back 3 years after going on hiatus, and it's partnering with Cash App on a new 'Cash Card'". Business Insider. Retrieved July 2, 2021.
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- ^ "Can Shayne Oliver's HBA Pull Off a Second Coming?". The Business of Fashion. November 11, 2020. Retrieved July 2, 2021.
- ^ "HOOD BY AIR". LVMH PRIZE. Retrieved July 2, 2021.
- ^ a b "Air Apparent". Vogue. October 30, 2013. Retrieved July 2, 2021.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-4742-6556-0.
- ^ "Hood By Air". Hypebeast.
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- ^ Singer, Maya (February 9, 2014). "Hood By Air Fall 2014 Menswear Collection". Vogue. Retrieved July 2, 2021.
- ^ Singer, Maya (February 10, 2014). "Hood By Air Fall 2014 Ready-to-Wear Collection". Vogue. Retrieved July 2, 2021.
- ^ Singer, Maya (September 23, 2014). "Hood By Air Spring 2015 Ready-to-Wear Collection". Vogue. Retrieved July 2, 2021.
- ^ Manning, Emily (November 3, 2014). "hood by air unleashes its iD at moma". i-D. Retrieved July 2, 2021.
- ^ Singer, Maya (February 15, 2015). "Hood By Air Fall 2015 Ready-to-Wear Collection". Vogue. Retrieved July 2, 2021.
- ^ Singer, Maya (February 16, 2015). "Hood By Air Fall 2015 Menswear Collection". Vogue. Retrieved July 2, 2021.
- ^ Blanks, Tim (June 28, 2015). "Hood By Air Spring 2016 Menswear Collection". Vogue. Retrieved July 2, 2021.
- ^ Mower, Sarah (September 13, 2015). "Hood By Air Spring 2016 Ready-to-Wear Collection". Vogue. Retrieved July 2, 2021.
- ^ Nnadi, Chioma. "Hood By Air Fall 2016 Ready-to-Wear Collection". Vogue. Retrieved July 2, 2021.
- ^ Fury, Alexander (June 27, 2016). "Hood By Air Spring 2017 Menswear Collection". Vogue. Retrieved July 2, 2021.
- ^ Nnadi, Chioma (September 11, 2016). "Hood By Air Spring 2017 Ready-to-Wear Collection". Vogue. Retrieved July 2, 2021.
- ^ "Exclusive: Hood By Air and Barneys Team Up for a New Kind of Virtual Reality". Vogue. March 28, 2016. Retrieved July 2, 2021.
- ^ "HBA x Been Trill T-Shirt". Highsnobiety. February 6, 2013. Retrieved July 2, 2021.
- ^ "DIS Announces Diffusion Art Line to Launch Next Month". Retrieved July 2, 2021.
- ^ "A Styled Look at the Hood By Air x Corgi Collection". HYPEBEAST. November 26, 2013. Retrieved July 2, 2021.
- ^ "Meet Dolly Cohen, The Parisian Woman Making The Craziest Grills In Rap". The FADER. April 17, 2014. Retrieved July 2, 2021.
- ^ "Hood by Air Brings Installation and Exclusive Pieces to Dover Street Market New York". Complex. Retrieved July 2, 2021.
- ^ "What Would Cookie Wear? Hood By Air Teams Up With Empire on a Boss-Worthy Collab". Vogue. November 10, 2015. Retrieved July 2, 2021.
- ^ Halbert, Mosha Lundstrom (December 21, 2016). "The Most Controversial Shoes on the Runways of 2016". Footwear News. Retrieved July 2, 2021.
- ^ "HBA x Gentle Monster SS16 Sunglasses". Highsnobiety. April 14, 2016. Retrieved July 2, 2021.
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- ^ "Hood By Air's Kangol Collaboration Goes on Sale Today". Vogue. February 14, 2016. Retrieved July 2, 2021.
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- ^ "Hood By Air and Pieter Hugo Continue to Champion Jamaica's Homosexual Community With a New Collab". Vogue. December 2016. Retrieved July 2, 2021.
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- ^ "Shayne Oliver of Hood By Air Bedazzles a Construction Drum for Charity". GQ. May 12, 2015. Retrieved July 2, 2021.
- ^ Beach, Hana (July 27, 2015). "hood by air's shayne oliver joins the CFDA". i-D. Retrieved July 2, 2021.
- ^ "Hood By Air's Shayne Oliver Wins Swarovski Award for Menswear at 2015 CFDA Awards". Complex. Retrieved July 2, 2021.