Shayne Oliver isn't exactly known for giving just anyone a chance to interview him, which is why Kerwin Frost's new sit-down with the Hood by Air founder and singer/brand ambassador Ian Isiah is such a treat.
Naturally, a certain HBA x Been Trill moment was among the topics Frost got the two to elaborate on during the extended interview. About 26 minutes in, Oliver noted that Virgil Abloh did indeed work for HBA at one point, then relayed the story of how they nearly lost control of the narrative thanks to what was intended as a one-off non-release for a star-stacked brunch.
"He did, he worked for HBA," Oliver said. "That got taken a little out of control . . . It was literally a t-shirt for a party, it was a daytime event, and then everything went haywire." After Isiah added that the brunch t-shirt "got out of hand" thanks to a surprise Kanye West endorsement, Oliver explained how moments like that ultimately helped define the brand.
"We had to take control of it somehow, so we had to get involved," Oliver said. "Even with, you know, certain rappers we were like, it got on him and then it got out of control. And then it was like a whole 'nother consumer that we didn't know how to control."
Later, around 40 minutes in, a discussion on the current state of fashion (which Isiah assesses as "a lot of sheep, not a lot of shepherds") leads into the revelation that HBA was seemingly propositioned by the team behind the doomed Fyre Festival.
"I kinda wish we were involved in that scam," Isiah said. "Should I mention this? I did talk to [Leilah Weinraub] about it . . . I talked to her about this a long time ago. Leilah kinda told me she did see an email, because she already knew it was a scam, she did see some sort of, like, Fyre Festival email. We could have been a part of that."
Wild. Anyway, as Frost himself said when teasing the interview over the weekend, this should be enjoyed in totality and "closely studied." See the full thing up top.
