Hood By Air's Shayne Oliver Named Special Guest for Pitti Uomo 87

Hood By Air is headed to Italy in January 2015. The luxury-streetwear hybrid brand was recently unveiled as the special guest at Pitti Uomo 87, the four-day menswear portion of Pitti Immagine. It’s been a whirlwind of a year for HBA and its creative director, Shayne Oliver. The brand launched its first e-commerce site, while Oliver racked up award nominations from the CFDA and LVMH. Now, the 26-year-old designer will be responsible for producing a special event at the prestigious Pitti Uomo 87. HBA’s controversial first runway show in 2013 is what led Lapo Cianchi, the events manager for Pitti Immagine, to enlist the upstart brand.

“I saw their first event two years ago, and ever since then I have been struck by the unique creative process developed by the HBA, and by their distinctive way of making each, meticulously styled collection into a strong statement about gender, social class, power and beauty,” said Cianchi. “Multidisciplinary research, roots firmly anchored in underground culture, and the unexpected aspects of certain solutions are all reflected in their fashion shows where performance, music and product define each other. We know that there will be some beautiful chemistry when they meet a city like Florence.”