Baader-Meinhoffing hoodies
Frequency illusion or a coping mechanism for the contemporary age?
Wind and rain are lashing the city, so let’s turn our attention to the garment everyone turns to on days like this: the hoodie. Why not put one on, play Virgin, and get stuck into today’s newsletter? You’ll also find the latest New Zealand Fashion Week news, my thoughts on Sinners, an Anna Wintour update, and what I want to know about those Prada sandals.
Everywhere I look are hoodies. Perhaps they’ve reached a saturation point, or I’ve tuned into one of those transmissions where once you notice something it’s all you can see, a cognitive buzz also known as the frequency illusion or Baader–Meinhof phenomenon which, because humans love looking for patterns and meaning, is a common way to parse our overstimulating cultural environment.
With no hard numbers to back me up — as far as I know, Stats NZ doesn’t capture this data and, in case you hadn’t heard, the next Census is cancelled — I’m going to proceed as if my observations are correct, and use today’s newsletter to consider the proliferation of the hoody and how it reflects the current climate (literal, social and psychological).
It’s certainly the weather for one, cold and wet and dour here in Tāmaki Makaurau, and the comfort factor of the hoodie is something I’ve been thinking about. It goes beyond the obvious physical attributes — so soft, so snuggly — into psychological territory. Think about how you feel when you put one on, slipping that familiar softness over your arms and torso, the hood enveloping your head, or drawn close around your neck with the string pulled tight. They’re comforting (the swaddle effect) and comfortable — made as they usually are from soft fleeces and loopback fabrics — with a forgiving cut, a debt that’s owed to the garment’s contemporary origins.
Birthed in their familiar form in the 1930s, they were manufactured by Champion (née Knickerbocker Knitting Company) and worn by blue-collar workers toiling, so legend goes, in industries like cold storage and arborism, before being adopted by varsity sports teams. As such, hoodies earned cultural valour from labour and athleticism, associated with strength and the underdog, a trajectory that reached a pop-culture tide mark in 1976 with Rocky Balboa’s sweat-drenched cotton marle — a look that’s still in the back of everyone’s mind when they reach for grey sweats — and prominance in the hip-hop scene. America’s Century can be summed up in the hoodie, and as its influence spread so did they.
The iconic USA hoodie encapsulates it all really. Run-DMC’s Darryl McDaniels was wearing one as far back as 1985. The design was a mainstay of Polo Sport, which launched in 1992 (the motif was also used prior to this in Ralph Lauren’s Stadium line) and Bridget Hall wore one in the July 1995 issue of UK Vogue, and the motif proliferated from there as other brands approximated the simple, striking concept. It was the thing to wear in my corner of Auckland in 2001, and swung back into the mainstream in 2024 (the Olympics will do that). Glassons even did one.
While hoodies might be a definitive garment of the Anthropocene, hoods are, in fact, archaic. In its most essential form, a hood is one of the most common dress conventions around the world, covering heads for religious practices and practicality alike, protecting from the elements and providing privacy.
Putting your hood up has a dissociative effect, good for lounging (rotting) at home or avoiding eye contact on the bus, and it offers some semblance of anonymity, valuable at a time when surveillance has never been more unavoidable. When there’s CCTV and ring cameras and everyone (potentially) broadcasting everything, privacy in the form of a hood feels particularly precious.
Even with their current ubiquity, hoodies retain an aura of anti-establishment energy. Having been adopted by countercultures and subcultures, that association’s hard to shake — and, arguably, part of their appeal (especially if you’re Balenciaga). Territory for projecting class tensions, they’ve been used to codify certain social groups and the term was, and in some quarters still is, shorthand for criminality. Want to deter suspected shoplifters and untrustworthy teenagers? Slap up a “no hoodies” sign. That’s what Paraparaumu’s Coastlands Mall did in 2005, and BNZ branches around Aotearoa in 2008.
This subtext and track record makes them a loaded garment and vehicle for easy judgment; two people wearing the same black hoodie may move through the world with decidedly different effects. Teenagers in hoodies have become a cinematic trope for the gritty crime genre (scary!) while a hoodie-clad Kendall Roy wears Tom Ford while plotting corporate takeovers (scary!) The shooting of Trayvon Martin inspired the Million Hoodie March in 2012. Journalist Troy Patterson unpacked the politics of the garment for the New York Times Magazine, pointing out that context is everything. “The hood continues to frame matters of class and race in ways that tend to satisfy the interest of power.”
Mark Zuckerberg wore them because he could; it was a status flex and rejection of the status quo. Between Silicon Valley style, the paradigm-shifting streetwear era, normcore (a simpler time) and current high-stakes health signalling, hoodies have become something everyone can, seemingly, all agree on.
Accessible and user-friendly, they solve a lot of problems. Fit is easy, making them a safe bet when buying online; they’re generally affordably priced, often serving as entry-point garments for designer brands; and compared to a woollen sweater or fabulous but hostile designer garments — ever bought something with a “do not wash label?” I have — they’re easy to care for if you’re time-poor or not inclined to handwashing. And like I said at the start of this screed, they’re everywhere — even the office, as dress codes across the board have relaxed.
A not insignificant number of people at my old job would wear them to work (newsrooms are more relaxed than you might expect). The best of the bunch was Dan Ahwa, who would turn heads with a cool hoodie that usually said something clever (favourites include those famous NOM*d designs and one from Alexa Chung with an illustration of a man wearing a bear suit with the slogan ‘bear with me’).
He thinks hoodies are more anti-establishment than a crew neck, and far from phoning it in, his was an exercise in expression. “Wearing a hoodie to work might feel unprofessional in some working environments, but as someone who exists in a more creative realm, I liked the flexibility of being able to test the parameters of the hoodie, a beloved, national wardrobe item. Sometimes wearing one layered over a crisp business shirt and dress trousers, for example, always worked well for semi-formal spaces,” he tells me, and timing was everything. “On a casual Friday, slipping into one always felt like I was mentally preparing for the weekend. There was nothing really deliberate about wearing a hoodie to the office, I just really enjoyed being able to elevate it with some more formal pieces, which I normally wouldn’t be able to with a hoodie.”
Wondering whether our old employer was an exception to the rule, I messaged a couple of friends who go to the kind of offices you’d expect a collared shirt to be de rigueur. One has a government job, and though they’d never wear a hoodie to work, some colleagues do, and are “often looked askance upon”. Another, who goes to one of those gleaming buildings downtown, reported back that they could see not one but three in the office that day (including a GAP number).
Kiwis have famously casual taste, and locally I think the influence of AS Colour and its famous multibuys can’t be understated. There’s the classic Huffer hoodie, of course, and Porter James sweats keep popping up around town — I really like their new hoodies — and there are a bunch of good designer options out there, including Sylvester, Sleeping Profit and Jing He. Not to mention the myriad cultural allegiances rendered via the medium, and it’s relatively cheap and easy to add meaning to a blank.
You’ll even find them in Des Rusk’s new line, Longform, as he joins the ranks of one of the stronger categories in our local garment industry, merino, and returns to designing after a lengthy hiatus. Out now, went to have a look at it all Tuesday, and immediately reached for the hoodie in merino fleece (!!!) and sweatshirt. There’s a nostalgia baked into them. “I think both garments have such an interesting history. Like most long-lasting design, they were born from a functional start point and it was more of this aspect that I drew inspiration from,” Des explains over email the next day. “With both the hoodies and the sweatshirts, I wanted to take that feeling of comfort and create something that can be worn within that context but also in an elevated sense, sitting alongside other pieces in one's wardrobe.”
They’re representative of the line, which aims to put merino in a new context, and the first thing that struck me was the relaxation of it all. In some ways, it’s a departure from the beginning of his career, which, if you remember, leaned more tailored. (He had a namesake menswear label from 2004 to 2008, and did a line for Barkers).
“It is definitely a shift, but one that is somewhat particular to working with merino. I wanted to start with a tight range, which led me to focus on the cut and sew side of things as a start point, and all our fabrications are from the same knit factory,” Des explains, and he’s changed too. “I think my own personal taste and aesthetic has evolved from early on and continues to do so, and the continued influence of both streetwear and high-low dressing has also likely had an influence, both in what I think may suit a market and also in my own personal style.”
We talked textiles of course (he’s spent the last 15 years in fabric wholesaling) and Longform’s includes an 18.9-micron merino for the T-shirts, and a heavy gauge milled jersey, Des’s favourite, for the jackets, which has the appearance of boiled wool but the gentle give of a dense knit. And the hoodies and sweatshirts? “For our loopback terry and fleece, we created a fabric that has a bit more structure than a usual merino terry. I feel this is a great representation of Longform — taking the amazing natural properties of merino wool and presenting it in a new context.”
He saw a space in the market when it came to merino garments. “The offering (for good reasons) is largely based around outdoor and adventure wear, and a lot of what’s on offer from a fashion point of view is either fully fashioned, or pretty conservative,” he explains. “Not that we’re being avant-garde, but I saw a gap for a brand that could push some boundaries with merino and present it in a way that both suit an everyday context and sit alongside some top fashion brands.”
The first collection is focused solely on cut-and-sew knits, but what about all those long-time fans who love a Des Rusk collared shirt? Will they be catered to in the future? “Definitely. I’m excited about where we take things from a fabrication perspective. There are so many things you can do with merino and some shirting is definitely in the works.”
Recurrence is a running theme in some stories I’ve had published this week. Ties are something I’ve noticed cropping up on a vanguard of cool young Aucklanders, and I spoke to three of them — Peter Wing, Levi Tan and Synthia Bahati — for Ensemble, for a deep dive on the semiotics, satire and style of wearing one in 2025. Intrigued by the proliferation of puffer jackets across Tāmaki Makaurau and how they represent the social fabric of the city, I pounded the pavement for Metro to see who was wearing what this winter. For that same issue (the school special) I also observed how teenagers are styling their uniforms, cataloguing the coolest backpacks, Labubus and the nuances of how to wear your scarf. Elsewhere, I wrote the cover story for the latest issue of Here, visiting a bold villa extension in Mount Albert.
Listening… to Virgin, which is finally, officially, out today. (I didn’t make it to the listening party on Wednesday because I was on the Bfm Drive Show with Geneva, but I hear they were chocka). It’s good, great in fact, and Ella sounds like she’s been through it. Gone are the beaches and sunshine, this is music for sitting on a park bench in a hoodie and feeling feelings (pigeons optional). Man of the Year and Hammer are still my favourites (but is that a Baby Bash reference in If She Could See Me Now?) The vinyl looks cool, and so do the promo images by New York-based Kiwi Thistle Brown, and Ella’s working with stylist-of-the-moment Taylor McNeill. Right roll out, right album, right time in my opinion.
Wondering… whether those Kolhapuri Chappal sandals on Prada’s runway this week were made by craftsmen in India (where the style originated and is a national icon) and how much the cost price was.
Lunching… at Addis, the Ethiopian restaurant in Strand Arcade, and it’s a welcome addition to the CBD dining landscape. Staff are lovely and so is the food.
Attending… New Zealand Fashion Week Kahuria’s designer announcement party last night, which also marked Giltrap Group coming on board as a key sponsor. A sizeable chunk of the local industry gathered in their glossy Great North Road headquarters and, surrounded by gleaming vehicles, heard the first lineup confirmations, campaign unveiling and the announcement of a new emerging designer award. It’s rare to have so much of the industry in one room at the same time, and it was so well lit that you could see exactly who was there. Designers Juliette Hogan and Zambesi’s Liz and Neville Findlay were, and they’re are officially on the schedule, alongside Kathryn Wilson, Knuefermann, Kiri Nathan, Kowtow, Pacific Fusion, Rebe, Rory William Docherty, Sonnie, Taylor, The Keep, The Shelter, Untouched World, Claudia Li, Kahui Collective, Breast Cancer Cure Designer Showcase, and the already confirmed Karen Walker. There’s also the Into The Archives retrospective show to be excited about (I am) and the Future of Fashion showcase. Most of the key media was there, and many of the critical behind-the-scenes people — model agents, PR, stylists and models — and it really gave you a sense of the size and taste of the ecosystem. Everyone looked great of course (particularly Kiri Nathan in blue and someone else in head-to-toe Liz Mitchell) and I clocked a lot of blazers and a lot of coats. I was wearing my Virus sperm dress (I had Ensemble’s Party Girl screening at The Hollywood straight after) so added a tie to be professional.
Reading… My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante and it’s as good as everyone says it is.
Visiting… the Underlena pop-up at Francie in Grey Lynn. Maxine Kelly has the showroom open until June 29.
Watching… Sinners, finally, and it lives up to all the hype. Visually gorgeous and a grand mash-up of genres, it’s also a deep reflection on race, cultural assimilation and how we consume each other. I also really enjoyed this interview with Ryan Coogler.
Anna Wintour is stepping down? She’ll be the last editor in chief of the magazine, with her successor receiving the title “head of editorial content”, aligning it, finally, with the international stable of mastheads. (She remains Vogue's global editorial director and Condé Nast’s global chief content officer).
Auckland Museum's Māori and Pacific galleries (my favourite part) could be closed until as late as 2029?
Ofbody’s Nathan Taare has made a limited edition fragrance for the new exhibition Unerased: Made in Palestine? It’s called Sumud and it’s an attar (alcohol free perfume oil) with notes of saffron, apple tea, cumin seed, rose, orris, patchouli, sandalwood and oud. Opening today, the show’s on at 250 Ponsonby Road until July 12.
Another Anna, Anna Sui, has got a book coming out with Rizzoli? She spoke to Steff Yotka about it.
Princess Di once told Tony Blair that he should touch people during photographs?
Lemaire described its spring 2026 “wardrobe” — not collection — as “alert”? Now that’s chic.
We’re all really just “crawling along the surface of time like ants over a Rembrandt”? Hera Lindsay Bird has some advice for anyone grappling with existential helplessness.
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The fact that not even Mark Zuckerberg could kill the reign of the hoodie is simply remarkable.