Hood By Air
Hood By Air is a high fashion streetwear brand first launched in 2006,active through 2012–2016 and on hiatus from early 2017 – 2/2019. The designer is Shayne Oliver – a former student at Fashion Institute of Technology and New York University who described his design aesthetic as "ghetto gothic" and banjee – who was named among The 25 Greatest Black Fashion Designers by Complex. Oliver brought in the conceptual artist and filmmaker Leilah Weinraub as CEO and cofounder in 2012. Weinraub was openly skeptical of the brand's celebrity endorsements. The company was notable for refusing outside investment.
The brand focused on gender-neutral designs, a mode described by Oliver as "powerwear". Its influences include 1990s-era New York City culture as well as brands like; Diesel Tommy Hilfiger, Polo Sport and DKNY.
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 Eckhaus Latta to be worn by Barbie dolls with a variety of realistic body-types.
The brand also collaborated with musicians A$AP Rocky, Kanye West, and Rihanna, and won awards from LVMH and the Council of Fashion Designers of America. It was chosen for a guest spot at menswear trade show Pitti Uomo in 2015. Its runway pieces have been sold at high-end boutiques like Opening Ceremony, Colette in Paris and Harvey Nichols in London.
In 2016, the brand released a capsule collection in collaboration with the pornographic video platform, Pornhub.
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.
