Since 2006, Shayne Oliver has been playing with, and innovating around, the concept of streetwear way before it became a "trend" in the New York fashion scene. As a result, he's developed an incredibly loyal following for his boundary-pushing label Hood By Air and always-topical, thought-provoking presentations for a little over a decade. Alas, it appears we'll have to wait a while for some new work from the designer: Hood By Air announced today that it's going on hiatus, effective immediately.
According to a statement from the brand, Oliver and his co-founder, Leilah Weinrab, have decided to put their label on hold for the time being in order to focus "on their current projects." The former recently got a gig designing a capsule collection for Helmut Lang, due out in September, as Business of Fashion reported in March. The latter is shifting gears to work on film projects, the next of which is set to premiere at the Whitney Biennial in May.
AdvertisementADVERTISEMENT
The design duo didn't offer more details as to the timing of the hiatus — only that "HBA will continue to fulfill its creative vision in the near future," per the release. The news comes after Oliver unexpectedly canceled his fall '17 show during Paris Fashion Week a mere week prior to its scheduled slot, citing "unforeseen circumstances," according to WWD. Hood By Air's website is currently closed, with a banner that reassures visitors that it will re-open soon with the spring '17 collection.
Before you start wiping away a tear with the ultra-oversized sleeve of your Hood By Air-branded jerseys, though, remember, it's not totally unprecedented for designers to take breaks from their personal labels when they're juggling multiple projects: That's what Anthony Vaccarello did when he took the helm at Saint Laurent last year, and it's what Thakoon Panichgul is currently doing as he weighs the options for his namesake label sans an investor. For now, we'll just cling to that Rihanna-approved HBA T-shirt from the MTV Video Music Awards and hope that this break will be brief.