It's fairly standard for attendees at fashion shows to wear the designs of the brands hosting, but rarely is it as noticeable as it was Sunday at Hood by Air Fall/Winter 2014, held at the Chelsea Piers. The black and white HBA logo was plastered on the torsos and sleeves of what seemed like a veritable army of futuristic street kids––or perhaps devotees of the cult of Shayne Oliver, the brand's creative director.
Yet the show itself was much more about dissonance than unity. While the label's trademark logo appeared on numerous T-shirts, pants, and hoodies, the construction of these items themselves was radically diverse. Take the collection's pants for instance, which came in all of the following styles: drop-crotch, drainpipe skinny, bell-bottomed, baggy, and bedecked with chains, zippers, and straps. Then there were the shoes, which ranged from metallic Nike sneakers (the brand was one of the show's sponsors) to velvet platform knee-highs. The models came in all heights, races, and genders, and each walked with an idiosyncratic swagger, a far cry from the choreographed marches of other fashion shows. While the models all sported the same set of hair extensions held up by silver halos of chains befitting a Navajo chief, even the artificial hair came in all styles and textures. And then there was the music––a soundtrack by Juliana Huxtable, Total Freedom, and Tim DeWit that alternated between thumping techno and ear-shattering screams and growls. At times, certain guests seemed to be facing a dilemma about whether to plug their ears or use their fingers to snap Instagram photos.
Interestingly, the clash of sensory input came to a neat and deliberate conclusion with the finale. After the last model exited the stage, a crew of shirtless men in wigs launched into one of the most spectacular instances of voguing I've ever seen. Their 5-feet high jumps in the air were a feat of nature, as was the fact that their wigs didn't fall off after being whipped violently with the force of a Gravitron carnival ride. As the audience filtered out of the show, eardrums and eyeballs stupefied, it was clear that dissonance can itself be a unique aesthetic, and an innovative one at that.
Photos by James Parker III | E-mail ONLINE@OPENINGCEREMONY.US to be notified when the FW14 collection arrives at OC!![]()
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Shayne Oliv
Yet the show itself was much more about dissonance than unity. While the label's trademark logo appeared on numerous T-shirts, pants, and hoodies, the construction of these items themselves was radically diverse. Take the collection's pants for instance, which came in all of the following styles: drop-crotch, drainpipe skinny, bell-bottomed, baggy, and bedecked with chains, zippers, and straps. Then there were the shoes, which ranged from metallic Nike sneakers (the brand was one of the show's sponsors) to velvet platform knee-highs. The models came in all heights, races, and genders, and each walked with an idiosyncratic swagger, a far cry from the choreographed marches of other fashion shows. While the models all sported the same set of hair extensions held up by silver halos of chains befitting a Navajo chief, even the artificial hair came in all styles and textures. And then there was the music––a soundtrack by Juliana Huxtable, Total Freedom, and Tim DeWit that alternated between thumping techno and ear-shattering screams and growls. At times, certain guests seemed to be facing a dilemma about whether to plug their ears or use their fingers to snap Instagram photos.
Interestingly, the clash of sensory input came to a neat and deliberate conclusion with the finale. After the last model exited the stage, a crew of shirtless men in wigs launched into one of the most spectacular instances of voguing I've ever seen. Their 5-feet high jumps in the air were a feat of nature, as was the fact that their wigs didn't fall off after being whipped violently with the force of a Gravitron carnival ride. As the audience filtered out of the show, eardrums and eyeballs stupefied, it was clear that dissonance can itself be a unique aesthetic, and an innovative one at that.
Photos by James Parker III | E-mail ONLINE@OPENINGCEREMONY.US to be notified when the FW14 collection arrives at OC!
Shayne Oliv