Hood By Air Spring 2017 images courtesy of dailyfrontrow.com
In 2006, when designers Shayne Oliver and Raul Lopez launched Hood By Air (HBA), the streetwear label signaled a turning point luxury streetwear. The idea of streetwear as part of the world of high fashion was a seedling that was newly sprouting in the minds of the fashion elite.
Though Lopez in 2011 left Hood By Air, Oliver still continued on with HBA, amassing a cult following and garnering the attention of major celebrities including Naomi Campbell, Jussie Smollett, Kanye West, and Teyana Taylor. Even Vogue’s longtime editor-in-chief Anna Wintour could be found front row at HBA’s fashion show during New York Fashion Week.
Unfortunately, all good things come to an end. In 2017, Oliver put HBA on hiatus with no definitive restart date. Fans of the brand were heartbroken. HBA was more than just another urban/streetwear brand, HBA brought about a cultural shift of luxury streetwear being taken seriously. What urban youth had advocating for decades was finally being taken seriously by the fashion industry that had once scoffed at the idea of a high-end streetwear.
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There is much speculation in the fashion industry of why Shayne Oliver put Hood By Air on hiatus. The brand, which had become immensely popular with many department stores stocking their racks with HBA product, always lacked large financial backing. Everything was self-funded, and it was Oliver’s first business, and as with many emerging brands, it often difficult to get investment dollars. Oliver would later admit to internal dysfunction with a “too many cooks spoil the pot” mentality. The brand would find financial backing in 2016 from New Guards Group, the Italian investment arm that backed Virgil Abloh’s Off-White. This financial partnership lasted just a year. Oliver also pointed out how the fashion financial investment system doesn’t favor designers of color launching independent brands that are considered high fashion.
Notably, HBA also said something substantive to say to Black and Latino youth. Their message of success rang loud and clear, because like many of their consumer they too grew came from urban, low income neighborhoods. Though there are more Black and Latinx fashion designers finally getting their due—hello Telfar, Pyer Moss, Johanna Ortiz, and Alejandra Alonso Rojas—HBA is one of their recent brands that helped forge the path for urban streetwear designers.
Though the brand has been on hiatus since 2017, resale sites TheRealReal, eBay, and HBX, because of the demand, HBA is still there. Occasionally, a lucky customer will find an HBA garment on luxury e-commerce site Farfetch.
While HBA was on hiatus, Oliver would go on to guest design for Helmut Lang and Diesel. But fans have waited for the day that HBA would make a true come back. Oliver’s cult following has stood by salivating for a new HBA collection.
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Then, came one faithful day in July 2020 when Oliver announced Hood By Air would be returning. Dubbing it “Hood By Air, The New Institution,” Oliver had to do something refreshing as he was already ahead of the curve in doing what so many designers are trying to do now—make streetwear part of the luxury conversation, casting diverse models of color, etc. This time around, the designer set out to operate outside of the normal fashion structure, and HBA doesn’t plan on being a part of the fashion week cycle, nor does Oliver intend to follow any of the establishment rules.
The new iteration of Hood By Air will exist in four parts: the Hood By Air luxury label; direct-to-consumer platform HBA; an archival collection called Museum, and the hot, new incubator for BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) designers called Anonymous Club. The return of HBA is poised to contribute to a new awakening for BIPOC designers, at a time when diversity and inclusion have become buzz words in the fashion industry.
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In a press release, HBA explained Anonymous Club, “By leveraging past icons and silhouettes borne from young BIPOC creatives, a new future will be informed and developed.” The end goal of Anonymous Club is to eventually allow emerging talent to collaborate with Hood By Air and HBA spinoffs. The independent platform will support the work of not only fashion designers, but also other independent artists and musicians to create a more diverse world.
Despite strides made by many BIPOC designers in the fashion industry, fashion still has a race problem. Young designers of color have discussed how they have faced racism in academia at top design schools. In a July article from Hypebeast, designer Taofeek Abijako, founder of label Midwest Kids, said that fashion “uplifts all the things racism stands for. Aside from just the differences in skin color, we also think about systemic issues such as elitism and classism which are all the negative cousins of racism that are in fashion.”
What Anonymous Club can provide for BIPOC designers is the opportunity to have their designs presented to an established audience of editors, buyers, and customers. While Oliver hasn’t announced specific price points for Anonymous Club, it is expected to be at a more affordable price range than the luxury Hood By Air label.
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Accessibility to consumers and real opportunities for designers shape the identity of a brand and its consumer base. Trans rights are still a hot cultural topic , so the brand has committed to donating to Black Trans Femmes in the Arts through proceeds of a limited-edition tee shirt done in collaboration with charity initiative, Uprising. As a Black queer man, Oliver thought it only practical to give back to the Black LGBT community and let Black trans people know that at his brand they are welcome.
What Hood By Air will represent for the next generation of BIPOC designers is the opportunity to have the financial backing, network, and support of a major brand. The barriers that have been in place for a long time for designers of color to thrive; however, barriers are slowly beginning to break down. And Hood By Air is a driving force of creativity, adding that needed pressure to tumble down fashion’s bigoted walls.
—Kristopher Fraser
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