Whether you like it or not, JNCO Jeans are officially back. A lot of people who lived through the strange '90s trend are hesitant to admit that they wore and loved the brand for its super wide legs and massive patches, but Shayne Oliver has fond memories of his days buying the pants, being a young mallrat shopping in Hot Topic, and falling in love with rave culture. In a recent interview with The Cut, the Hood By Air founder spoke about how those years shaped who he is as a person and designer.
"Around middle school, I’d be buying UFOs and Kickware and JNCOs and Silver Tabs and getting ringer tees from vintage stores," said Oliver, who is happy that JNCOs are back. "I didn’t know where it was coming from, I just felt the energy and was really attracted to it." The designer grew up in the Midwest, and said that he was into mall culture and identified with Raf Simons and the whole baggy, vintage, JNCO Jeans look. "That sort of culture is really huge in places that kids don’t have anything to identify with."
Even before he was old enough to participate, Oliver said he rave culture spoke to him. "Rave has always been a fashion statement to me — that silhouette was fashion. I thought, 'That is exactly what I want to look like when I grow up.'"
He added that he used to cop women's clothes (long before Young Thug and Jaden Smith) to complete his look. "I had a baby-blue crushed-velvet ribbed turtleneck, and I would pair it with the wide-leg pants in this silver-y fabric, and I had pants that would turn into a purse, and I would carry it...Those moments will always be a part of who I am, and how I think about fashion. The extremity of that culture, is maybe that influence. Taking it to the next level. I’m showing you something that is next-level not to shock you, but to give you something new."
Head over to The Cut to read more of the interview.
