Shayne Oliver Explains How His NYC Upbringing Inspires Hood By Air

The designer's one-of-a-kind upbringing may have invented the aesthetic he's known for today.

Not Available Lead
Complex Original

Image via Complex Original

Not Available Lead

There isn't anyone in the fashion world doing quite what Shayne Oliver is doing with Hood By Air. Oliver's unique background has translated into an authentic representation of the swirling NYC environment he was raised in. Business of Fashion profiled the designer and dug into his teenage years to find out not only how Hood By Air was created, but to chronicle Oliver's involvement in various NYC subcultures.

"I never set out to change the menswear market," Oliver told the publication. "It was about integrating the downtown skate thing with being from Brooklyn and being androgynous and somewhat transgender and figuring how it all worked together, but in a way that was viable for men in general.”

Instead of doing something "edgy" or cool, Oliver was genuinely brought in by designers like Helmut Lang and Raf Simons from a young age, and learned to how to incorporate their themes that made sense with his lifestyle.

Click here to read the complete article and learn about how Oliver's high school helped develop his hunger for fashion, how Hood By Air almost failed, and what's next for the streetwear brand.

[via Business of Fashion]

Latest in Style