Over the past year or so, fashion has really embraced the EDM scene. While purists might point out the distinct difference between rave life and EDM life, it's always fun to hear what designers were into when they were young and before they got their big break. Shayne Oliver of Hood By Air tells The Cut that he was, in fact, a former raver. That's fun and great. Then, he goes so far as to let everyone in on the fact that he was one of the people who frequented Hot Topic and wore the enormous versions of JNCO jeans while he raved and probably waved glowsticks back and forth in weird warehouses in the middle of a cornfield. He is from Minnesota after all: "Being from the Midwest, it started from there — feeling the influence of rave from pop culture, from being in malls and going to Hot Topic. Having this feeling that resonates through the clothing, this idea of being in an open space, and dancing as freely as you can, the music being excessively loud."
Naturally, his life in the rave scene has affected his designs for HBA. I don't know if there's a clearer inspiration in fashion, really. "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. It takes everything to an extreme level," Oliver says. And his feelings on JNCOs making a comeback? He's pretty psyched: "[The fact that JNCOs are coming back] is so, so, so dope. Those silhouettes are becoming a part of fashion [again]. It’s come full circle."
