STYLELuxury Streetwear Brand Hood By Air Enlists 'Mother' Naomi Campbell To Model In Its New Fashion Campaign — Photos
After an almost four-year hiatus, luxury streetwear brand Hood By Air has relaunched in a big way.
The fashion line enlisted Naomi Campbell to star in its latest ready-to-wear campaign, the brand's first since its return to the fashion scene last year.
Shot by Luis Alberto Rodriguez, the ultra edgy, black-and-white images feature the iconic supermodel modeling pieces from the "Prologue" collection, ushering in the new era of HBA.
The vibe is dark, moody and utilitarian as the flawless 50-year-old is featured in styles such as heavy leather jackets, oversized cargo pants and harnesses.
HBA co-founder and designer Shayne Oliver told the New York Times they chose Campbell to head up the brand's new campaign because she is like a "mother" figure to his fashion team.
"We are all young, Black, gay men, with all of these strong women in the families," he told the outlet. "So we were like, 'OK, so if we're going in that direction, we should talk to mother.'"
"We quote her, like, every other day," he added. "Her laughing and her looks just reminds us of the mother figures in our lives and how they interact with us in a loving but stern way."
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Oliver also told the Times that the campaign doubles as an announcement of their first fashion show since moving back into ready-to-wear, which he hopes will take place in June.
Oliver abruptly paused the brand in 2017. He called his stretch away from the fashion scene his “hibernation” before returning to HBA in mid-2020 with a new outlook and a number of new ideas. “I think that it’s not about me having a slow pace, but having my own pace that is very productive,” he told Vogue.
Hood By Air was first launched in 2006 by Oliver, a former student at Fashion Institute of Technology and New York University who described his design aesthetic as "ghetto gothic" and banjee.
The brand focused on gender-neutral designs, a mode described by Oliver as "powerwear." Its original influences included 1990s-era New York City culture as well as brands like Diesel, Tommy Hilfiger, Polo Sport and DKNY.
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In 2012, Oliver brought in the conceptual artist and filmmaker Leilah Weinraub as CEO and cofounder. The brand has famously collaborated with musicians like A$AP Rocky, Kanye West and Rihanna and won awards from LVMH and the Council of Fashion Designers of America.
HBA's runway pieces have been sold at high-end boutiques like Opening Ceremony, Colette in Paris and Harvey Nichols in London.
