Founders Shayne Oliver establishes the New York-based brand Hood By Air in 2006 with friend Raul Lopez. After a three-year hiatus, Hood by Air announced last year they would be back in production. In a 2019 interview with Kerwin Frost, the creators discuss their hardships being designers of color and how other fashion houses used their ideas for fashion campaigns.
“When the girls rip us off, they can’t just say we took this look from Hood By Air Spring/Summer collection. That was when it became too much for me like I can’t be in this conversation and named New York’s underground when named the top shows for three seasons,” said Oliver.
The fashion house shows inspiration from Harlem ballroom culture, Hip Hop, and the downtown kids in New York City.
The brand has been featured in storefronts such as Barneys New York. The fashion house has also worked with artists like Kanye West, Asap Rocky, and Rihanna. During Rihanna’s 2016 VMA performance, many couldn’t stop talking about the artist’s bodysuit designed by Oliver and his team.
In 2019 Kanye West interviewed Oliver for an interview magazine about Hood By Air’s long exit. Oliver expressed:
“It was getting to a point where I felt like I was being held to an extreme level. Hood By Air had these emotions and this ethos that I respect, and I wanted to continue respecting that as much as possible. Am I meant to constantly be working on something without knowing exactly what I’m aiming toward? I didn’t really feel like it was healthy.”
Hood By Air’s upcoming collection is titled Prologue. Supermodel Naomi Campbell graced their campaign for their “Mother” series which served as the official announcement for the brand’s relaunch into ready-to-wear. The campaign focuses on three main themes: Mother, Veteran, and Merch.
For the campaign, Campbell is wearing the Mother collection. This is Oliver’s way of paying homage towards maternal figures throughout his life. Oliver says the collection was inspired by the hibernation phase everyone has been in during this pandemic, illustrated with the leather pants and the leather jacket.
Many are excited for the Hood By Air Latest collection to come from this New York fashion house. According to Shayne Olivier, the brand is expected to host its first show for Prologue: Mother sometime in June.
Photos: Hood by Air/ Luis Alberto Rodriguez