Shayne Oliver’s thrilling spring/summer 16 Hood By Air collection, Galvanize, continues to make fashion waves with fresh iterations more than a year after it debuted on the catwalk — worn by mouthpiece adorned models including the designer’s Wench musical collaborator Arca.
In early 2016, Oliver flew the collection to Jamaica, linking up with the South African photographer Pieter Hugo — known for his work with marginalized communities in Africa — and stylist Carlos Nazario. The trio shot the strapped, zipped, and frilled tailored looks on Jamaica’s male porn stars and members of the homeless LGBT community, known as “Gully Queens” after the storm drains many are forced to reside in.
“I had been hearing about [the Gully Queens] through Akeem Smith, who’s of Jamaican descent. The story felt very similar to that of the kids who were living on Christopher Street in the mid-late ’00s, some of whom were close friends of mine. The story and struggles were very familiar, and I wanted to expose the harmonious beauty of the kids opposed to the extreme view that is projected onto them regularly,” Oliver recently told Vogue.
The resulting images were made into a book, PH & HBA, which also included a conversation between Hugo and Nazario about “the challenges they faced photographing such sexually ambiguous characters in a country where homosexuality is still illegal.”
Now, the Galvanize collection has been refreshed and expanded once more, with a new capsule collection that features Hugo’s images on ultra long-sleeve T-shirt dresses, with bold text printed down each colored sleeve: ‘Pieter Hugo. Hood By Air.’ on the left, and ‘Galvanize. Jamaica SS 16.’ on the right. Although this was not originally part of the collaboration plan, Hugo tells Vogue, “Shayne just saw the potential of making the two mediums live together. And it looks fabulous.”
The collection will be presented today during Art Basel Miami, with all seven styles available to purchase.
Related: Go behind the scenes of Hood By Air’s incredible Galvanize windows for Barneys
Credits
Text Charlotte Gush
Photography Pieter Hugo