The most amazing thing happened this season at the Hood by Air show. In addition to the brand’s faithful club kids bringing strong HBA looks to the front row, so too did tanned, chic European editors, normally decked out in Alaia and Comme. It’s official: the New York brand defined by its subversive nature has been fully embraced by the establishment. And its multi-layered, multi-gender standout of a spring 15 show only served to cement it in the fashion elite. For the first in what will be a three-part season-long series of shows (part 2 in Paris, part 3 a finale back in NY), creative director Shayne Oliver explored the theme of ‘Ego.’
For Shayne, it was about an exploration of visual tropes that he feels have become outdated. As he said after the show, “We were like, what makes the male ego the male ego? We were thinking about what he does, what his job is. We started breaking down American heroes, and aesthetics that people used to fawn over, like being a lawyer or an astronaut. Let’s bring some meaning back to these things, in a reconstruction/deconstruction mentality.”
There was also, as always with HBA, a celebration of the simple style of logos and symbols alongside an examination of them. “We’re doing this thing that we’re calling commerce as performance,” said Shayne. “Do you even know the messages behind what you’re buying into? Or is it a facade?”
Clothing-wise, that manifested in an ultra-varied assortment, from navy deconstructed suiting drawing on 80s Japanese minimalism, to the logo-ed separates the brand is known for, to a strong and simple embossed leather series (HBA and 69 stamped as tastefully as possible into the skins). Several pieces drew from the BDSM universe, including extreme plexiglass collars with handcuffs, and cutaway tops.
As to the continuing dialogue around gender in HBA, you might say it’s “post-unisex.” Although Shayne featured several female models in the show, he’s not crazy about the word “unisex,” which he finds “not sexy.” He explains, “This season’s expression is idea based. You swallow it how you want to. That’s why we kept it mixing it up and styled the same thing on everyone.” That means suits and combat boots for women, skirts and sans-pants looks for men, and everything in between.
Much of Hood by Air is driven by connections and friendships. From the collaborative nature of the collective (aside from Shayne there is also director Leila Weinraub, brand ambassador Ian Isiah, and stylist Akeem Smith). As Shayne said, “Whenever we’re looking at the board we go, ‘Do we want to hang out with this person?'” It’s a good litmus test for a brand that everyone wants to hang out with.
Credits
Text Rory Satran
Photography Harry Carr