THE HOODIE ENTERS THE MUSEUM

An exhibition at Het Nieuwe Instituut curated by Lou Stoppard explores the history and role of the hoodie, a banal yet controversial piece of clothing.

Prem Sahib, Umbra, 2019. Photo: Plastiques. Courtesy the artist and Jhaveri Contemporary.

Featuring loans and work by:
Yohji Yamamoto, Raf Simons, Helmut Lang, RECONSTRUCT, Liberated People, Hussein Chalayan x Puma, VETEMENTS, Aitor Throup, Dior, Champion, Vexed Generation, C.P. Company, Vollebak, Adam Harvey, Issey Miyake x Final Home, Project KOVR, Nike, Rick Owens, OFF- WHITE, Craig Green, A-Cold-Wall, IGNAZ, Gucci, SOUVENIR OFFICIAL, AMBUSH, BYBORRE, Patta, Astrid Andersen, Woei x Clone, JUUN.J.

Yohji Yamamoto, Sweater dress, c.1990. Collection of the Modemuseum Hasselt.
Bag Carrier Cap, 1900 - 1940. Collection of the Museum Rotterdam.
Cream-coloured hood, 1950-1970. Collection of the Museum Rotterdam.
The Hoodie, 2019. Photo Johannes Schwartz.

Curated by Lou Stoppard the show is filled with mixed media exhibition, uniting artworks with garments, printed matter, digital footage, social media posts and other cultural artefacts. It will explore distinct and intersectional themes including the rise of surveillance culture and facial recognition technology; music and subculture; conversations around androgyny and gender fluidity; and the breakdown of traditional dress codes. The show will examine these themes in relation to the hoodie, challenging the viewer to consider its multifaceted relationship with contemporary culture. The exhibition will also contextualise the hoodie in fashion history, tracing its evolution from 1930s workwear to icon of streetwear.

This exhibition at the museum Het Nieuwe Instituut in Rotterdam, explores the role of a fashion garment as a socio-political carrier. The hoodie tells many stories - tales of social inequality, youth culture, subculture, police brutality, racism, privacy, fear and style. It is a garment that sparks a range of emotions, communicating all manner of social and cultural ideas and nuances depending on the gender, geography, age, conduct and ethnicity of the wearer and, in turn, the prejudices and politics of the viewer. Popularised by Champion in the 1930s, the hoodie was a practical solution for workmen; it is now, arguably, Western Fashion’s last truly political garment.

Gio Staiano. Vetements Ready To Wear / Fall Winter 20
Adut Akech wears Balenciaga in i-D‘s The Earthwise Issue, Fall 2018
Photograph: Campbell Addy
Styling: Alastair McKimm

Gio Staiano. Vetements Ready To Wear / Fall Winter 20

Rick Owens, Mastodon, Autumn/Winter 2016. The Hoodie, 2019
Photograph: Johannes Schwartz

John Akehurst. Lucy + Jorge Orta - Refuge Wear Intervention, London East End 1998

Prem Sahib, Umbra, 2019. Photo: Plastiques. Courtesy the artist and Jhaveri Contemporary.

Aitor Throup, Ganesh Hoody, 2008. RECONSTRUCT, SHRTSKRT HOODIE SKIRT, Retrograde Orbit collection Spring/Summer 2019. Raf Simons, Autumn/Winter 1997. Courtesy of David Casavant Archive. Raf Simons, Autumn/Winter 2004. Courtesy of David Casavant Archive. The Hoodie, 2019. Photo Johannes Schwartz.

The Hoodie brings together diverse artists and makers whose work in photography, film, installation, fashion, and other media is connected by a mutual interest in these central themes.

Ari Versluis and Ellie Uyttenbroek, Exactitudes 168 - EUnify - Berlin 2019, 2019.
OFF-WHITE, Airport Tape Collection, Men‘s Spring/Summer 2020
The Hoodie 2019. Foto Johannes Schwartz.

Exactitudes 168. by Ari Versluis and Ellie Uyttenbroek
EUnify Hoodie by Souvenir Official