Initial reaction:
In a basement-like cement room at the heart of the city’s finance world – Wall Street – Hood By Air presented “Daddy”, a collection that came complete with an invitation decorated with Goya’s ghastly “Saturn Devouring His Son”. Neutral tones were interrupted by sharp bursts of prison uniform orange, denim, fur and leather, which joined pleated pants, puffa jackets and male models in tight, long black T-shirt dresses that showed a lot of leg – recalling Rick Owen’s recent penis-bearing looks from Paris Fashion Week.
Yes Daddy:
“Daddy” seemed to be about constriction within luxury – with the models wearing padlocks on their mouths and stockings over their heads like fetishistic bank robbers, distorting and matting down their features. Some looks, including the final blossoming grey fur coat with the HBA wrapped around the middle, kept the models’ arms tight by their sides. After all, daddies do like to dominate.
A HBA empire:
The soundtrack by Total Freedom abruptly turned into smooth jazz after a quote from the show Empire reverberated over the sound system: “I wanna show you a faggot really can run this company”. Considering the presence of art world king Klaus Biesenbach and the inimitable Grace Coddington, it’s sure that Hood By Air will continue to ascend.
The soundtrack to Hood By Air AW15:
