In a relatively short space of time, Shayne Oliver has moved his brand Hood By Air from the fringes and into the center of the fashion conversation. It’s thanks to brands like HBA that hot-button issues around gender and race are on the runway agenda at all. A remix of Beyoncé’s “Formation"—arguably the most talked-about song of the moment—came blaring through the speakers before the first model came out in patent leather killer heels, the sleeve of her coat trailing behind her like a cape. Oliver has been subverting notions of streetwear since the beginning, and this season he turned familiar tropes upside down with renewed audacity; one zip-up jacket came with black duffel bags for sleeves, and North Face’s ubiquitous puffer was given a makeover in sleek patent leather and held aloft like an oversize life jacket by Slava Mogutin, the radical Russian LGBT artist who walked in the show.
Oliver titled his collection “Pilgrimage” and cited the idea of transience and transmigration as overarching themes. Aside from killer stiletto heels, models both male and female wore rubber waders that seemed fit for a flood of apocalyptic proportions; barcoded baggage tags were laced into sneakers, and shiny black bustiers were fashioned from the plastic used to wrap baggage at the airport, a look that rendered the body itself as cargo. Set those ideas to the soundtrack of Beyoncé, who sings of Louisiana’s tumultuous past in her new single, then factor in the current refugee crisis in Europe, and it was hard to ignore the politics beneath the surface here.
Whatever the subtext, it’s important to remember the journey that Oliver has made as a designer. After winning the LVMH Special Prize little over a year ago he moved his operation to Milan, and the new clothes reflect the strides he’s made: There’s a confidence that runs through, from the mind-boggling technical complexities of the outwear to the cheeky slogan bodysuits to the streetwise buckets hats that were produced in collaboration with Kangol—pieces that are, incidentally, available to buy now. Yes, the fashion system might be broken, but clearly that's not stopping Oliver and his instinct for what’s next.