Checking in with Shayne Oliver of Hood by Air

Hood By Air designer Shayne Oliver is an extraordinarily talented force of a young man who is running the New York culture gamut sooooo fiercely and prolifically I'm almost worried for his health. But he's young and he's got so much energy, and his spirit is strong. A great combination of traits that will fuel the various projects he has yet to undertake, I'm sure. He is someone to watch in general. Here's some highlights of our conversation the other day...

How long have you been designing Hood By Air?
I started in 2006 just doing T-shirts for friends. It wasn't a joke, but kind of like a "fuck you" to street wear in general. I started out making T-shirts that just said "HOOD" on them, and people kept saying, "Ooh, I like that." So I started making more elaborate pieces.

Things are really happening for you. You've been working a ton of angles. The most recent is the work you've done for Hercules and Love Affair.
They're amazing. I did some visual direction for them. Like, styling and stuff like that.

How did you get hooked up with them?
I knew Kim Ann for a while. She liked my spirit. That's what she said. I would dance a lot and she appreciated that. So she asked me to get on board and that was it.

You have a connection with Willie Ninja. What's that all about?
I met him when I was younger. He took me under his wing. I was like one of his children. He was part of the family. He knew my mother. We used to call each other and hang out. I thought of him not as a mother, but more of a father figure. It's weird, I don't get sad about [Willie's death] because of who he was, you know, he was always really joyful. I appreciate what he brought to the world. I appreciate what he brought to me, too. I just love his memory.

What's the most exciting thing going for you right now?
Well this month, there's this thing at ASS gallery (Asia Song Society) all month. There will be a video presentation of my newest collection, included in A-Ron's show, called "My Life In T-Shirts." He's gonna give me the basement. I'm gonna fuck it up a bit. Make it a little House of Galore.

Who is your biggest influence? I
t's definitely boys. Like, BOY. Like, the whole package. It's the feeling when a faggot is going absolutely crazy, and she's feeling it so much. Chic to death. Just in the moment, in the vibe. Even when it's pretentious. I'm even into that. I'm inspired by it. I also love the casualness of a BOY. Just being content to be casual. I mean, but there's pretentiousness in that, too. Like, "I'm gonna throw on a white tee and some shorts, and I'm the bomb," you know what I'm saying?

UMMM yes, except I've never heard a more apt description before this. You're incredible. OK. Next question: Who's your favorite designer?
I hate to say it, and it's really black faggot of me to say it, but I love McQueen. She takes her concept and she goes crazy! I love the darkness of it. It's perverse. She's good.

Let's talk about the collection you showed the other day.

The line is all about business. I have to deal with it so much, so it's influenced me. It's also all about how urban culture is becoming a new glamour. Like, THE new glamour. It's luxury, but like, BAD luxury.

So what phrases are you putting on your shirts these days?

"The CASH" and "Sleaze Please." I took the Issey Miyake "Pleats Please" and went with it.

Shut your mouth! Like, with the same font and everything?
Yeah.

Genius. OK so you've got boys walking in your show with bluetooth devices popping out of their ears. We've talked about this before, but for the record, do you think we're losing out cause we spend too much time with technology and on the Internet?
It's what I think is wrong with NY right now. People don't go out and explore and create with other humans. The Internet is fun, but we need to mix worlds a little more. The Internet should ENHANCE us and not necessarily take away from who we are.

We're abbreviating our life experience a bit too much, I totally agree... We're profiles.
We're avatars. It's a little weird. We lost a bit of our soul. Hopefully it will come back. The kids are on the verge of creating something that maybe mixes things up a bit better.

So you're trying to pull all that together with Hood By Air.

Definitely. As far as using different types of media. Like with the music. I think music brings us together in a major way. Let it be a little crazy. Let it be a little weird, so we can at least be a little intrigued and come together and have a little FUN.

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