POP.SEE.CUL

MEET POP.SEE.CUL DESIGNERS PIA HAKKO AND PELIN YASAR. THEIR PERSONAL, SARCASTIC, AND WITTY APPROACH TO design is just what we love. The Unlimited sat down with the two inspiring women to see what they are up to.

Tell us how pop.see.cul started and when and where?  

Pop.see.cul started in London three years ago while we were at college. We decided to start an art and design blog and use it as a visual diary for our work and inspirations. The brand itself authentically emerged two years ago when we decided to do a t-shirt collection that reflected the blog's mood and character. 

Who writes the brilliant copy for your line ?  Our moods seem to have a secret way of working simultaneously (which is great for bitter comments on days we feel blue, which then gets placed on shirts) and synchronicity keeps us on the same page.

What inspires you to create? Everything from little conversations we hear from strangers to philosophical quotes. Movies, music, TV shows, books, magazines. 

Where would you like to be in 5 years?  First and foremost, mentally happy and still as passionate as we are now—if not more— about our work. It would also be ideal if we were physically in between London, New York and Istanbul, with pop.see.cul shops in each city. As an ongoing way of expanding the company, we constantly add new products each season and aim for the brand to get bigger and bigger. 

If you had a pick a city that fits your brands the most which would it be and why ? London! Because it is Pop.see.cul’s birthplace and just like the brand, it’s exciting, sarcastic, clever and ageless. 

I love your FOREVER IS A PLACE line, something about the text you use makes my feels its very personal who do you design for?  Oh, anyone and everyone! Ex-boyfriends, current boyfriends, enemies (not that we have any!), friends that just get you, parents, strangers… For every collection we aim to create a story and a personality to go along with it. For our latest "Forever is a Place" collection, we got inspired by the emotional connection between cities and people. How cities affect us, how they make us feel at home.

Tell us a secret ? We’re both pretty good with harmless lies.

Whats on your playlist this spring ?

Singtank - Suspicious Minds

The Dead Weather - I Cut Like A Buffalo 

Soko - We Might Be Dead By Tomorrow 

Kraftwerk - The Model 

(You can check all our favorite music on our blog under “Music for the Week”)

http://popseecul.com

Unorthodox - Catherine Litke

Founded in 2012, LITKE mixes a combination of classic minimalism and eccentric tailoring, merging the understated with a sense of excitement in its unique details and unorthodox shapes, making for clothes that are both innovative and timeless.

Why did you first start designing?

I wanted to create a line that was easy to wear but not boring to look at.  I love the idea of wearing a uniform, but that often can turn into kind of a mundane cycle. The line functions as an outlet for me where I work out what exactly it is I would want to be wearing in my ideal world (the one where I don’t wear striped turtlenecks, a parka, and jeans all winter long in New York).      

Who do you design with in mind? or who is the ideal girl to wear LITKE?

I design for the women I admire. This mostly means my friends, but there is also a dream list that includes Lee Krasner, Agnes Martin, Sophia Coppola, Francoise Hardy, Joan Didion, Mia Farrow, and Charlotte Perriand, among many others who I can’t remember at this moment.  Also, anyone who can wear a button-down shirt with pizzazz (for the most part grandmas do this best).

What inspires your designs?

To put it succinctly would be difficult, but at this moment swing dancing, east coast boarding schools, palm beach retirement style, and alexander calder are occupying a large section of my mind in a way that may be unhealthy.  I also just recently got cable for the first time since high school, so television is kind of blowing my mind right now.

What three words would you use to describe your line?

Classic, Off Kilter, Easy. I suppose that's really four words but let’s live dangerously today.

 

Where do you see the brand going in the future?

Hopefully the brand will keep growing organically.  I’d love to open a shop in the next couple of years but that is still way off on the horizon. Presently, getting the brand into major retail stores is what I’m working towards so that the line can be produced on a larger scale and get to the customer more completely.

LITKE WEBSITE 

Photography - Zack Blomquist - Website

Model/Styling - Victoria Brandt - Website

Maker and Shaker: Alice Waese

THE UNLIMITED sat down with artistic renaissance woman Alice Waese for an interview about evolution, inspiration, and collaboration.

THE UNLIMITED: How did you wind up making jewelry? 

Alice Waese: I moved to New York from Toronto when I was twenty and became Maria Cornejo’s designer's assistant. She taught me everything about being a designer as well as how to run a business. Though I liked out joint work, I didn’t like the disposable nature of fashion, of making more clothes season after season. I thought, “the world really doesn’t need another dress.” So I went to Goldsmiths University in London for a year and then I dropped out. I knew I didn’t want to work in fashion, but my passion for adornment and my work in the sculpting studio during my year at school, focused me on jewelry. I ended up putting the two together - fashion and sculpture. Jewelry is really interesting. It has crazy history and working with metal is a really emotionally charged process.  

TU: Tell us about your book

AW: Those That Don't  is my second book, a limited edition of twenty. It has three different covers. It starts with my drawings, a good way for me to get my drawings into the collection and bring the jewelry together with the artwork. The books have a little secret compartment in the back, so it’s this little cutout secret that you have with the book, and you get something precious in there.

Click and Drag to flip through the pages 

View fullsize

TU: What inspires you?

AW: Sometimes I work purely from imagination. I never look at magazines and I should go to art shows a lot more than I do. I’m pretty internal and I get a lot of inspiration from materials. I work with nature in the beginning, turning something in nature into something else that people see as a precious item and realize the beauty in it. I do a lot of castings of things that I find that have no value whatsoever, then change them from something that’s essentially valueless to something that’s extremely precious. I use a lot of black diamonds and 24-carat and 18-carat gold, which creates a really interesting transformation.

TU: How do you go from making different pieces to making a full-blown collection?

AW: I’m always trying to find ways to bring the collection together, because I think it is confusing for people. The shoes come out of the drawings; the jewelry comes out of the jacket. It’s the evolution of inspiration.

TU: How do you manage the transition between the different types of art forms you touch upon?

AW: I don’t really think about mediums. Obviously there’s a difference between making a pair of shoes, making a piece of jewelry, and making a painting or a book. But they relate to each other. For instance, I made shoes that came out of a drawing. They were worn by a caricature I drew and I decided to actually make them. The same thing goes for the jewelry. I guess it all comes from the same place. 

alicewaese.com

Philantrophies: Jewelry Designer Dana Bronfman

John Lennon once said, “Life is what happens while you are busy making other plans,” a statement to which Dana Bronfman can totally relate. The young jewelry designer/social entrepreneur and NYC freshman has already launched her first jewelry line in the fall, and we got to sit down with her and hear how it all happened.

THE UNLIMITED - What made you move to New York?

Dana Bronfman - I originally came out here to take some classes, which turned into applying for an internship with a designer to gain more experience. I then decided to stay even longer for a Jewelry design program at Pratt. I think I was subconsciously ready for a change. Since moving here I felt like my world opened up. I was having such a great time and didn’t want to leave,  so I kept postponing my departure, saying, ‘I’ll just stay a little longer, just a little longer.’ I then just realized this is where I want to be and this is where I should stay. I’m in love with New York, and I’m ready for it. 

TU- Tell us about being a social entrepreneur in the jewelry industry.

DB- I worked in the non-profit sector for two years and then transitioned into jewelry, so I wanted to do something creative but also keep a philanthropic aspect. My business follows both a philanthropic and sustainable model; I donate a portion of the proceeds of my sales to different charity organizations that support green jewelry practices, natural resource conservation, and educational and art scholarships for at-risk youth. 

All the metals that I work with are recycled. The caster that I use does certified recycled metals, I rarely use stones, but when I do, I only use natural stones.

I MAKE PIECES THAT I FEEL ARE BOTH UNEXPECTED AND TIMELESS.

TU- Who do you design for?

DB- I design what I like, so I suppose I design for people like myself; bold, aren’t afraid to be a bit different, and look beyond just owning “cool” stuff. My clients want to know where their products came and that they’re high quality and going to stay with them for a long time. I don’t create only in order to make money. I make pieces that I feel are both unexpected and timeless. Everything is handmade in New York. 

TU- Is New York your inspiration?

DB - I find it incredibly inspiring. In fact, it was at the essence of the mood board for this collection. These earrings (pictured, right) for example, were inspired by panels, rivets and bolts of the Williamsburg Bridge, and gave them a grainy and matte finishes to create an industrial quality. New York has this opulent, glamorous beauty, and I try capture the contrast of that in my collection. 

Selected pieces are available for purchase at DanaBronfman.com 

Designer Profile: Linie

The Linie F/W '14 Collection from the Swedish born, New York based designer Maria Hedmark was inspired by abstract painter Friedel Dzubas work. 

click for website

CREDITS:

Model: Josie Craven

Photography & Styling: Victoria Brandt

Clothes: Linie F/W '14

Designer Profile: Tini Courtney

Tini Courtney is the founder of HOWL, a handmade jewelry line. She creates out of her shop in Venice, California. Her pieces reflect her own spirituality, the people she creates for, and the materials she uses. 

How did you get into jewelry?

I was actually in school for fashion design. I slowly realized that I was not a fan of clothing and that whole industry. It was like a year before I graduated I started making my own jewelry and just kind of messing around. People were really interested in what I was doing so I started selling stuff, and I got some press right away. I had the name “Handle Only With Love” (HOWL) as something I just thought of and I just wrote it down.  Then the whole dreamcatcher thing just felt like it fit so perfectly with the name of it. So I built a website and it just really took off. I was promoting, throwing parties at clubs and then slowly fizzled out of that, and was able to just do this for the last four years and I am still doing it.

How much has social media impacted your success?

I like to do everything myself, unfortunately I am really stubborn like that. I mean obviously instagram has worked wonders with my business too, which is so nice because you can post something and it is so accessible for someone to see it. I have tried the e-commerce thing so many times, but I am so particular about how my pieces look on a website that I had made my website more of a gallery and less about selling. I think its more about how people see something now and contact me to get more custom, which is what I love to do anyways. A lot of times people will send me their old jewelry or an old jewelry box and I will just recreate whatever I can from there and then give them back the rest of it.

How much spirituality is in your personal life?

I was definitely raised by a mother who is spiritually connected, head in the clouds but feet on the ground kind of woman. She has been doing her own art for the last four years and is very strong and independent, but very out there and does lots of yoga and meditates a lot. It is something I was raised around so for me it is just kind of part of my life. The whole crystal thing and that whole aspect of it, and that being tied into my work is also something that is very important to me. I am such a nerd when it comes to crystals like I am obsessed. They all carry different properties, and I am still learning so much. There is so much to learn, and there are so many different kinds and different ways to use them. It is really interesting to me.

"I want people to feel connected to the pieces."

Do you feel there is a healing power you are sending out with your jewelry?

Absolutely, and it is all about your intention. When I make them I definitely have that intention behind. A lot of people that like these pieces are also attracted to that aspect of it. It is just subconscious you can not help it, like there is a reason why you like certain pieces.

Do you see yourself taking stuff that you are doing by hand and moving them to big manufacturer?

That has been such a battle the last couple of years, but I honestly do not. I really have no desire to do that. I think being able to hand make something and have a timeless piece is so unique. Everyone is always like the money is there, but I really don’t care to be honest. I would rather just like really refine my skills and be able to charge more and be happy doing it. That has what has been happening the past couple years. I have been practicing so much, and learning more things, and it has become more valuable because my time has become more valuable.

“If it was not hand made it would not have as much of a story. It would be going against everything I am about.”

This year for Art Basel I am doing an installation that is definitely going to change my path just because the materials and the category that these pieces are going in. I am using gold leaf and they are 3.5ft metal sculptures and I am implementing pieces of my jewelry into these sculptures. They are really beautiful and I have never done anything like this mind blowing to myself so I am very excited about Basel this year. This installation is in the middle of the Wynwood Walls which is this amazing place to have this. Those pieces to me are like pieces of fine art. 

If you are going to Art Basel in Miami go check out Tini's installation at the Wynwood Walls on 25th and NW 2nd Ave. in Wynwood. 

http://www.handleonlywithlove.com

Leo's Evident Future

Stylist-to-the-stars Leo Velasquez added 'designer' to his resume last year when he debuted his much anticipated label, Evident Future during New York Fashion Week.

After years dressing musicians like Usher, Miguel, and Kid Cudi, as well as NBA star Lamar Odom, Velasquez decided men needed some serious help in the style department. So it was 'LV The Stylist,' as he is known in fashion circles, to the rescue. 

'Men need to step out of their comfort zone a lot more. And that is what I am here for, to teach them how to do that,' the designer admitted. Originally, he wanted his first collection to be unisex, but this epiphany lead him to design solely for a 'fearless man,' who, he says, 'will inspire the future.' And taking cues from the late Alexander McQueen, Jeremy Scott, and Gareth Pugh, Evident Future's motorcycle jackets with removable sleeves, leather pants that sit as comfortably as well-worn jeans, metallic vests, and reflective visors seem to be doing just that - inspiring the future of a different kind of menswear.​

​Q&A

Do you have a secret talent?
I'm pretty good at basketball, and I have also been a barber since the age of 13.

In your previous life you were?
A king... I remember it taking place in the Future.

The quality you most admire in a man/woman?
Intelligence and effortless confidence is the sexiest in a woman.

Who was the first person to break your heart? 
When my babysitter died when I was around seven years old. I remember crying for days.

Favorite food that brings back childhood memories?
Mangu.

Song that defines you?
KIDS / MGMT

​Photos by Kevin Amato

words by Olivia Fleming

http://evidentfuture.wordpress.com/​

Designer profile : Karolina Zmarlak

Karolina Zmarlak SS15 collection is well composed feminine silhouettes, fascinating innovative technical fabrics, minimalism, timeless, classic and luxurious all in one. In 2009 Karolina, together with her partner Jesse keyes, launched her eponymous women's designer ready to wear line. Aiming to bring to ready to wear a new made to measure custom aspect of design, in the first collections every piece Karolina made was pretty much reversible and convertible. Now entering the brand 6th year, she still keep that identity but plays on that in many different ways. We sat down with the designer at her NY midtown showroom to talk about her Spring 2015 collection and what is Luxury and timeless fashion. 

What is luxury ?

For me the ultimate luxury these days is comfort. So, how can we as high end luxury designers play into that and have women think of something like us, as something they can wear on a daily basis instead of gym clothes. That is to really make clothes comfortable even when they are fantastic, and in fantastic fabrics, and represent amazing architectural detail in garments that are timeless. 

Timeless Fashion

The clothing, a lot of the detail is very subtle. That is why I always say it is one thing on a hanger, and another thing when you see it on a body. If you think about clothing the same way as architecture, if you make it that technically sound its going to have a longevity. The other thing is that the fact that it is going to be there a hundred years it has to have a timeless element. 

The Classic KZ women

As a woman designer I believe in the fact that women that have an amazing taste and style that they have grown into or grown up with they are the women who do not follow trends. I would like to think that the women that I dress are women that want to develop their own way with clothes. 

It has to be in a women’s personality, she has to personally have the attitude to carry the piece. Women need to be honest with themselves, and I think some women do know what is not for them. It is all in the spirit that you carry to have a certain comfort level that you either have or you develop in order to pull certain pieces off. 

"I love fabrics, and the certain heaviness and structure of fabrics. I think this was the first spring where I really felt I was using structure in fabrics, while having them be light. What you see a lot is what we call fabric fusions, in this case a lot of it is in fabric textures. Those become the key interest point, and this is the first time instead of designing with fabrics I designed through the fabrics." 

Enjoy the interactive images below and check out the full collection here

Text & Photography - Karin Bar

Model -  Gisele / One Management 

Designer Profile: Martin Keehn

Martin Keehn is an NYC based menswear collection featuring hoodies, sweat pants, trans-seasonal separates, belts, back packs, sacks and totes. The F/W 14 collection featured below explores pop culture and draws inspiration from common characters in our lives like the high school gym teacher, or the smart ass clown. Martin does twisted American classics that are both sexy and elegant.

Credits: Photography/Video by Victoria Brandt

Model Ernesto Renda

Clothing F/W 14 Martin Keehn

Designer Profile: Local Heroes

Local Heroes, A clothing brand from Warsaw, Poland created by Areta and Karolina. They manufacture everything in Poland which has made them somewhat local heroes back home because they followed their dream and stuck to their motto: "DOING REAL STUFF SUCKS".

How the brand got famous: Justin Bieber

"My partner, Karolina, that I do business with, she was a huge Justin Bieber fan. On day she just found the news that he bought a new house. She was so bored that she googled his address on google maps by literally the shape of the pool. So we had it, but we did not know if that was actually his address and the possibility of him getting the package because we just sent it the cheapest air mail in a package that looked more like a bomb than a present, like I would be afraid to open it. So, the possibility of him actually getting the package, and getting it into his hands, because I do not think Justin Bieber opens his own mail, and wearing it and somebody photographing him in it was like one in a million, and it all happened."

View fullsize

localheroesstore.com

Meet the designer: Katie Gallagher

Interview & Photography by Victoria Brandt, Model Kai Cameron

How did you first get into designing clothing? 

It happened very organically (for lack of a better word), really. I loved thrifting and antique shopping as a teenager. I would spend all my time either drawing (not clothes though) or altering the vintage pieces I would buy. Once, I started school at RISD--with the intentions of studying painting--I decided to study apparel design instead. I didn't believe I would ever be able to live as a "painter" or "artist" and I still think I may have been pretty on point with that logic. 

“Black looks good on everyone.”

I'm still painting and drawing and if I wasn't designing clothes and creating collections, I'd probably be making clothes and painting and drawing:)

Where do you get your inspiration from?

It varies from season to season. I'm a color synesthete and begin every season with paintings and drawings, mostly to better understand the colors and overall feeling I'm imagining for the season. With this in mind, I decided to make it all about just that. The color and/ or lack there of...the idea of seeing something and it's color just before it fades away. Something like dew, or smoke, or a memory. To disappear. 

Why all black, do you think black suits your designs best, or?

Every collection has a different color scheme, but we always use black as an accent color. Black looks good on everyone.

Do you think you will ever do a color collection? 

I've done several. My most colorful collection to date was Arena, SS11. Red, Red Blood, SS12 was also very...red.

Where do you want the brand to go? 

I would love to create more of home for my collections in the US, sales wise. After all, it is a New York brand in full. I design and produce in NYC. I also still make most of the samples myself in my Chinatown apartment. 

http://www.katiegallagher.com

BCALLA

BCALLA IS FROM THE BRAIN OF BRAD CALLAHAN WHO BUILT HIS LABEL ON COLLABORATIONS WITH DREAMERS. BCALLA STYLED THE DANCERS AT THE WEEKLY FRIDAY NIGHT PARTY 'GIRLS' AT LOVEGUN IN BROOKLYN, AND NOW YOU CAN GET A LOOK INTO THE PARTY.

CHECK OUT BCALLA

PHOTOGRAPHY & GIF: VICTORIA BRANDT

Meet the designer: DEGEN

Photography & interview by Victoria Brandt, Model Kai Cameron

How did you first get into designing clothing?

I learned to knit when I was very young but I think my mom making all of my Halloween costumes growing up was a huge inspiration.  I had a little fashion show in high school and continued making some clothing pieces during college.  I didn't really make wearable garments until 2008 when I made some finale pieces for the VPL show.

Where do you get your inspiration from?  

I'm inspired by my friends and their work.  We are all making different things in a lot of different mediums.  We all influence each other.

"I have always been an advocate for being comfortable with your own body."

Does the knit aspect tend to inform the rest of the collection or vice versa? 

Up until this coming ss15 season I'd say my collection was 90% knitted.  The other aspects of the collection were added afterwards to help add balance to the work.  I really only think about the knitting when I first begin a season, then I add those other printed elements.

Your collection is very playful, what helps you keep this playfulness?

I think making everything myself is the key to keeping the fun within the collection.  Because I have to make everything I want the making to be fun.  That means working with a lot of colors and textures to keep myself excited.  I think you can see the fun I have making the work in the final product.

We loved the boobless rainbow top, is this an embrace of sexuality in the #freethenipple way? 

I have always been an advocate for being comfortable with your own body.  I think the #freetheKNITple movement comes from a similar place although I would say that both women AND men should be more comfortable.  So I guess its less of a feminist statement and more of a universal sexuality statement.

Where do you want the brand to go? 

I would like to be able to continue making art while also expanding the wearable section of the brand.  I want to see DEGEN in more upper tier stores.

http://degen-nyc.com

Nisos 1948 - Menswear

“IT WAS A GREAT CHALLENGE FOR ME TO SUCCESSFULLY COMBINE THE NATURAL DYEING OF YARNS WITHOUT CHEMICALS, TOGETHER WITH GREEK TRADITION AS SEEN THROUGH MY OWN EYES, AND PERFECTION IN THE QUALITY OF OUR GARMENTS…” -Smaragda Navridis, designer of Nisos 1948

 Smaragda Navridis and Gregory Hatsatourian, the wife and husband duo behind the menswear label Nisos 1948, uses a unique dyeing process inspired by the premier luxury dye of the ancient world, “Porphyra” or Tyrian purple—a reddish purple natural dye extracted from a particular species of sea snail.  

Their special mix of natural ingredients carefully collected from all over the world. A combination of fruits, woods, rocks, and vegetables produce each color and maintain the original characteristics of the natural fibers. One of the beneficial aspects to this method is the protection of the environment, using no chemicals and all natural elements there is no chemical waste.

According to Aristoteles, the preparation of the dye for clothes began in spring. It was extremely time-consuming and the final product was worth its weight in gold, since thousands of snails were required to produce just one gram of dye. Only royalty and very wealthy people could afford to dye their clothes in this manner. One of the most striking characteristics of “Porphyra” was that it did not fade but actually became brighter and more intense with weathering and sunlight. The Greek islands, amongst which Rhodes, Kos, Amorgos, Chios and Crete, were renowned for its production. The other dyes with herbs and fruits were also intended exclusively for the wealthy, as colored garments were a luxury in antiquity. Common people’s clothes were undyed. Natural dyes, with raw materials deriving from nature, were used for thousands of years, until the late 19th century when chemical dyes came into common use. Chemical dyes were quite a revolution as they were used for everybody’s clothing.

Interactive Photography : Victoria Brandt 

Model : Carlos @ One.1 Men 

http://www.nisos1948.com 

Designer Profile: Jessica Horwell

Hardware LDN Creator Jessica Horwell is Just as Badass as her Clothes

“It just wasn’t my thing, being told what to do, I wasn’t good at it when I was 3 let alone when I was 23. ”

I started it back in 2012, and I started it because I actually found like a load, in my friend’s shed a little house in the country side, I found these little eyelets and chains and bolts. And I just like picked them up and was playing with them, and then I started making like jewelry. Then I thought, I’m going to go to a hardware shop and bought loads more things and started making jewelry from everything I got from a hardware shop. That was where I got the name Hardware from. And then I just thought why not just make like a little clothing range, and see how it went. I did that and well I started to really love it. I have always had like a massive passion for clothes ever since like, you know, trying on my mum’s clothes. I have always been really into fashion. My mum always made my clothes from a young age, so I was like exposed to it from really young. And, I don’t know I have always been really into clothes myself and stuff, but never expected to be a designer.

Because, I don’t know I just never did, but once I did my first range of clothes I just really fell in love with it. Before that I did a bit of styling and I was assisting with like Rihanna and Tinie Tempah, Eliza Doolittle, but it wasn’t creative enough for me. Too much like, excuse my language, like bitch work. I don’t know I just preferred the more creative side and like just sort of creating basically. It was much more satisfying.

My last collection trailer trash was done in the UK but my new collection was done in LA. I’m based in the UK, like I am a born and bred London girl, but I sort of had this massive draw to LA. I went there and my mission was to find a factory, it’s not really that much cheaper than the UK, but when you go down to the fashion district there and see the fabrics and everything they have its really inspiring. So for me that just worked out really well. And also I would much rather go live in LA for like two months do my collection than live in London but have to go up to like Lancaster you know.

“For recognition you say someone like Rihanna and stuff, but I think if I could dress anybody I would probably go back to the 90s and dress Salt-n-Peppa”

I want to do more accessories, I’m bringing out my pair of sunglasses its one pair two different color contrasts. I really want to go back to doing some really cool jewelry. And I eventually want to do it in like solid gold and like real diamonds, real stones you know. Just keep pushing it and pushing it to even higher quality products than I am doing right now. Cause the quality and stuff is really important. And I want to do like different types of collections; collections that are more accessible and cheaper for people, and I also want to do those really high end pieces that only appeal to the sort of high end market. I want to keep it really diverse but also do want to do the expensive stuff. I just want to see it grow from like strength to strength, cause I have got like good recognition now things are still a struggle

...ok, It’s not a struggle but it is challenging when you’re getting big orders and you have to get the money to fund for the orders and stuff. But, I just want to see it basically get easier and also I just want to see it grow and grow and grow and I want to see it blow up in Asia. I want to see it really blow up in America and stuff. Also, London, and you know these places have got recognition for the brand right now but I want them to like really know about it. And I want to do like big events and stuff like that cause I am really into music and I also DJ so like, I really want to push the events side of things.

Hooding with HBA

Olivia Flemming intimate interview with Shayne Oliver

Shayne Oliver’s unexpectedly idolized unisex street wear label began with simple T-shirts made for friends back in 2006. They simply read, HOOD. Six years later, with the help of heavyweight endorsers like A$AP Rocky and Venus-X, his designs have a cult following from the Lower East Side to the Bronx and back to Soho. His most famous: a long-sleeved crew neck for Hood By Air Classics inspired by Hollywood iconography. A$AP Rocky wore one that cheekily references Paramount Pictures’ logo, and suddenly he was being stocked in Opening Ceremony and written up in mainstream indie magazines around the world.

 Shiny and reflective, its famous film credit mountain sits with CLASSIC written where the word Paramount should be. It’s effectively simple, and cleverly cute. But from a guy who popularized the term ’swaggot’ earlier this year, and whose blend of Nineties street wear is mixed with ready-to-wear bondage – jeans made to look like chaps, or shorts with a detachable skirt – ‘cute’ feels wrong.

​ Born in Minnesota, Oliver grew up in the Caribbean and moved to New York at age 11, where he has spent much of his time voguing from Brooklyn to the Bronx, while DJing sets at downtown’s Happy Ending.  He says he designs for “more of a feeling” than anything else, but if he had to put it into words: “For a person being bred and built all the time”.  And with the designer’s very first appearance at New York Fashion Week this September, where he staged his spring/summer 2013 collection as an interactive presentation to an overly eager audience, it looks as if he’s doing just that, himself.

HBA S/S 2013 Backstage ​

View fullsize

Maluca Mala In HBA ​

Photo by Kevin Amato

​Q&A

-Do you have a secret talent? I'm a dancer/musician at heart. 

-Favorite food that brings back childhood memories? Buss up shot, from Trinidad.

-Song that defines you?

I’ve never thought of one. I evolve with the music I discover.

-In your previous life you were? I’ve never really thought about that. Sometimes I embrace or restrict any intuitive energy that I currently have of a past life.​

-The quality you most admire in a man/woman? Truthful confidence. 

-Who was the first person to break your heart? My straight best friend from childhood. It’s an ongoing complex that has reared its head every once in a while through the years.

- Olivia Fleming ​

http://www.hoodbyair.com/​