Hood by Air
Product brand
UnclaimedNew York fashion and streetwear label recognized for subversive graphics, experimental silhouettes, and a performance-led approach to fashion.
Last updated August 22, 2026
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Overview
Hood by Air, commonly abbreviated as HBA, is a New York fashion and streetwear label founded in 2006 by designers Shayne Oliver and Raul Lopez. The brand began as a small, T-shirt-centered project and developed into an influential label associated with New York nightlife, queer creative communities, music, performance, and the merging of streetwear with luxury fashion. Lopez left approximately three years after the brand was founded, while Oliver continued to develop its visual language and commercial direction with a broader collective of artists, stylists, performers, filmmakers, and image-makers. The label became known for treating clothing as part of a larger cultural production rather than as an isolated retail product. Its designs have included graphic T-shirts, hoodies, outerwear, tailoring, leather, fur, accessories, and highly constructed ready-to-wear. Oliver has described the aesthetic using terms such as “ghetto gothic” and “banjee,” reflecting the brand’s combination of urban references, body-conscious styling, exaggerated branding, club culture, and fashion experimentation. HBA’s presentations frequently blurred the boundaries between runway, installation, performance, party, and spectacle. This approach helped establish the label’s reputation among a new generation of New York designers and contributed to the later mainstream recognition of luxury streetwear. Early stockists included OAK NYC, Seven New York, and Opening Ceremony. The brand’s 2008 presentation at Terence Koh’s A.S.S. gallery and its 2009 presentation of the HBA Classics line at OAK NYC demonstrated its interest in unconventional settings and theatrical presentation. A 2012 relaunch connected the label with VFILES and brought it increased visibility through a launch event featuring Venus X as a DJ and A$AP Rocky as a performer. A collaborative T-shirt with Been Trill, amplified by A$AP Rocky’s public exposure, further increased the brand’s profile. Hood by Air moved into a more formal fashion calendar with its first runway show at Milk Studios in New York in 2013, followed by a Paris presentation for Spring 2015. In 2014 it received the LVMH Special Jury Prize and joined the New Guards Group, which supported production, distribution, and sales. During this period the business expanded internationally and explored higher-end materials, tailoring, leather, fur, and more frequent collections. Oliver also received the 2015 CFDA Swarovski Award for Menswear, and HBA participated in Pitti Uomo 87 in Florence. The New Guards Group period increased the label’s product and operational scale, but Oliver later felt that the stronger commercial emphasis had weakened the cultural and conceptual qualities central to HBA. The brand left the group and returned to New York in 2016. Its Fall 2016 “Pilgrimage” collection and a presentation at Art Basel Miami Beach, organized with MoMA PS1 and involving photographer Pieter Hugo’s portraits of LGBT Jamaicans, reflected a renewed interest in performance, art, identity, and social provocation. HBA also released a Spring/Summer 2017 “Wench” capsule in collaboration with Pornhub. On April 6, 2017, the label announced that Oliver would pause his work at HBA to take a design role at Helmut Lang. The brand remained on hiatus for roughly three years while Oliver worked with Helmut Lang, Diesel, and other projects. HBA later resumed activity, although its operating structure and leadership evolved. Oliver left the brand’s active design role in 2023 but remained a partner. The label’s legacy rests on its influence on luxury streetwear, its collective creative model, its use of performance and nightlife as design infrastructure, and its challenge to conventional distinctions between fashion, art, commerce, and subculture.
History
Hood by Air was established in New York in 2006 by Shayne Oliver and Raul Lopez. Oliver had previously developed T-shirt graphics and a related creative identity under the name Elite Urban Brigade. The two designers met through a youth program connected with the Hetrick-Martin Institute and Harvey Milk High School. Their early work was sold through independent New York retailers, including OAK NYC, Seven New York, and Opening Ceremony. Lopez left the company around 2009, after which Oliver continued the label with a network of collaborators. The brand’s early development was closely tied to New York’s art, music, nightlife, and queer creative scenes. An installation-like presentation at Terence Koh’s A.S.S. gallery in 2008 and a 2009 OAK NYC presentation for the HBA Classics line established a format that combined clothing with performance and social spectacle. Oliver’s involvement with the GHE20G0TH1K party further connected the label to a community of DJs, musicians, performers, stylists, and artists. This network became an important source of HBA’s casting, imagery, design references, and cultural identity. In 2012, filmmaker and conceptual artist Leilah Weinraub joined as CEO and co-founder. The relaunch was supported by events at VFILES, including a performance by A$AP Rocky and a DJ set by Venus X. A collaboration with Been Trill produced a widely circulated T-shirt, helping the brand move from cult recognition into broader streetwear visibility. HBA subsequently expanded beyond graphic basics into more developed ready-to-wear and became known for subversive logos, exaggerated proportions, unusual styling, and presentations that operated as events or installations. The label staged its first official runway show at Milk Studios in New York in September 2013. It later presented in Paris and participated in MoMA PopRally’s 2014 “Id,” a multimedia event combining performance, livestreaming, theatre, and installation. HBA won the LVMH Special Jury Prize in 2014 and joined New Guards Group. Under that structure, production, distribution, and sales expanded, while the brand moved part of its operations to Italy and increased its fashion-calendar commitments. HBA explored tailoring, leather, fur, and other luxury materials and appeared at Pitti Uomo 87 in 2015. Oliver received the CFDA Swarovski Award for Menswear that same year. Oliver later concluded that the commercial demands of the New Guards Group period had displaced some of HBA’s original cultural and conceptual energy. The company left the group after several seasons and returned to New York in 2016. The Fall 2016 “Pilgrimage” collection showed the technical development gained during the Italian period while reasserting the label’s experimental approach. A 2016 presentation at Art Basel Miami Beach, produced with MoMA PS1 and based partly on Pieter Hugo’s portraits of LGBT Jamaicans, reinforced HBA’s connection to art, identity, and performance. The brand also released a “Wench” capsule with Pornhub. In April 2017, HBA announced a pause as Oliver moved into a design role at Helmut Lang. The brand was officially inactive for approximately three years. During the hiatus Oliver worked with Helmut Lang, Diesel, and other fashion projects. Hood by Air later resumed activity, although its business and creative structure changed over time. Oliver left the active design role in 2023 but retained a partnership interest. HBA remains associated with the emergence of luxury streetwear as a major fashion category and with a model in which a brand’s community, imagery, performances, and cultural relationships are as important as its clothing range.
- 2023
Oliver leaves active design role
[1]Oliver leaves the brand’s active design role while remaining a partner.
- 2017
Brand hiatus begins
[1]Oliver pauses HBA while taking a role at Helmut Lang; the label enters a multiyear hiatus.
- 2016
Return to New York
[1]HBA leaves New Guards Group and returns its operations and creative focus to New York.
- 2015
Pitti Uomo and CFDA recognition
[1]The label presents at Pitti Uomo 87, and Shayne Oliver wins the CFDA Swarovski Award for Menswear.
- 2014
LVMH Special Jury Prize
[1]Hood by Air receives the inaugural LVMH Special Jury Prize and joins New Guards Group.
- 2013
First official runway show
[1]HBA presents its Fall 2013 collection at Milk Studios in New York.
- 2012
Relaunch with Leilah Weinraub
[1]Weinraub joins as CEO and co-founder, while a VFILES event helps reintroduce HBA to a wider fashion audience.
- 2009
HBA Classics presentation
[1]The brand presents its HBA Classics line at OAK NYC; Raul Lopez subsequently leaves the label.
- 2008
First gallery presentation
[1]HBA presents work at Terence Koh’s A.S.S. gallery in Chinatown, using an art-oriented setting rather than a conventional runway.
- 2006
Hood by Air is founded
[1]Shayne Oliver and Raul Lopez establish the New York label, initially centered on graphic T-shirts and streetwear.
Products and positioning
High-end, avant-garde streetwear combining New York subculture, queer club culture, performance, graphic branding, and luxury fashion techniques.
Graphic basics · 2009
HBA Classics
The HBA Classics line developed the label’s early T-shirt and basic-garment language into a recognizable commercial offering. It relied on bold graphics, logos, and repeatable streetwear silhouettes, helping establish the visual codes that later appeared across more elaborate ready-to-wear collections.
Fashion apparel · 2013
Ready-to-wear collections
HBA’s ready-to-wear has included oversized and engineered outerwear, slogan bodysuits, tailored garments, leather, fur, graphic tops, dresses, and accessories. The collections combine high-production techniques with references drawn from New York street culture, nightlife, gender performance, and luxury fashion.
Collaborative capsule · 2016
Wench
The Spring/Summer 2017 “Wench” capsule was created with Pornhub. It extended HBA’s interest in provocative imagery, sexual politics, and the overlap between internet culture and fashion branding.
Marketing campaigns
- 2016Art Basel Miami Beach presentation
United States
In partnership with MoMA PS1, HBA presented work at the Delano Hotel using Instagram-cast models and garments developed around Pieter Hugo’s portraits of LGBT Jamaicans.
Outcome. The presentation was recognized for its transgressive combination of fashion, photography, identity, and performance.
- 2014Id
United States
Presented by MoMA PopRally, “Id” combined a party, live stream, theatrical elements, and a “humannequin” installation, with appearances by boychild and Mykki Blanco.
Outcome. The project demonstrated HBA’s expanded concept of a fashion presentation as a participatory cultural event.
- 2012VFILES relaunch event
United States
HBA’s relaunch at VFILES’ SoHo opening combined a DJ set by Venus X, a performance by A$AP Rocky, and the label’s renewed presentation to New York’s emerging fashion and creative community.
Outcome. The event increased the brand’s visibility and helped associate HBA with the new wave of New York luxury streetwear.
Brand decisions
2017
Pause the brandStrategyBackground
Oliver was offered a design role at Helmut Lang while HBA faced the challenge of managing a larger retail and production operation with a small, artist-led team.
Action taken
HBA suspended its regular activity and entered a multiyear hiatus.
Aftermath
The label remained officially on hiatus until approximately 2020, while Oliver pursued work with other fashion companies and creative projects.
2016
Leave New Guards Group and return to New YorkStrategyBackground
After several seasons under a more commercially intensive structure, HBA sought to recover the experimental and community-driven character associated with its New York origins.
Action taken
The brand left New Guards Group and moved its creative and business focus back to New York.
Aftermath
The return produced projects including the Fall 2016 “Pilgrimage” collection and an Art Basel presentation, but the small core team continued to face operational pressure.
2014
Adopt a New Guards Group operating structureStrategyBackground
HBA sought greater production, distribution, and sales capacity as it moved from a cult New York project toward an international fashion business.
Action taken
The label joined New Guards Group and expanded its collection schedule, international activity, and use of luxury materials.
Aftermath
The arrangement increased operational scale but later contributed to Oliver’s concern that commercial product demands were displacing the brand’s cultural and conceptual focus.
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