The Fascinating History and Evolution of Hoodies

Today's hoodie seems almost timeless—it's difficult to imagine wardrobes without this comfortable, practical garment. Yet the hoodie as we know it is less than a century old, and its journey from industrial workwear to high fashion runways tells a fascinating story of cultural evolution. Understanding this history adds appreciation for the humble hoodie and context for its enduring appeal.

Ancient Origins of the Hood

While the modern hoodie is a twentieth-century invention, hooded garments have existed for millennia. Medieval monks wore hooded robes as part of their religious habits, with the hood serving both practical warmth and symbolic humility. The word "hood" itself derives from the Anglo-Saxon "hōd," and hooded cloaks appear throughout European history as practical protection against weather.

However, these historical hooded garments share little beyond the hood itself with today's sweatshirt-based hoodie. The key innovation wasn't adding a hood—it was combining the hood with the emerging casual knitwear of the twentieth century.

The Birth of the Modern Hoodie: 1930s

The hoodie's origin story begins in 1930s New York with Champion Products (then known as Knickerbocker Knitting Company). The company specialized in athletic wear and recognized that workers in freezing warehouses and labourers exposed to harsh weather needed warm, durable, practical garments.

Champion's innovation was adding a hood to the emerging "sweatshirt"—itself a relatively new garment designed for athletes warming up before competitions. The hooded sweatshirt provided warmth around the head and neck while leaving hands free for work. The front kangaroo pocket, another Champion innovation, kept hands warm and provided convenient storage.

These early hoodies served purely functional purposes. They were workwear, not fashion items, valued for durability and warmth rather than style. The grey marl colour that remains popular today was simply the cheapest option to manufacture at scale.

Athletic Adoption: 1950s-1970s

The hoodie's journey toward mainstream acceptance accelerated when high school and university athletics programs adopted it as standard training attire. Coaches appreciated the warmth hoodies provided during cool-weather practice, while athletes found them comfortable for warm-ups and cool-downs.

By the 1960s, the hoodie had become synonymous with American athletic culture. Rocky Balboa's training scenes (though filmed in 1976) captured this era perfectly—the grey hoodie became visual shorthand for determination and hard work. This athletic association gave the hoodie its first layer of cultural meaning beyond mere function.

College students, always quick to adopt comfortable clothing, began wearing their team hoodies beyond practice fields. The hoodie transitioned from purely athletic wear to casual campus attire, carrying connotations of youth, fitness, and laid-back style.

Subculture and Counter-Culture: 1970s-1990s

The hoodie's most significant cultural transformation occurred when various subcultures adopted it as their own. The hood's ability to obscure the face and create a sense of anonymity appealed to groups operating outside mainstream society.

Hip-Hop Culture

Hip-hop's emergence in the late 1970s and 1980s brought the hoodie into a new context. Early hip-hop artists and breakdancers in New York adopted the hoodie as practical street wear that provided warmth during outdoor performances. The hoodie became part of hip-hop's visual identity, alongside sneakers, gold chains, and oversized fits.

As hip-hop grew from underground movement to mainstream cultural force, the hoodie came along. By the 1990s, artists like Tupac and The Notorious B.I.G. had cemented the hoodie as essential hip-hop attire, associating it with urban authenticity and street credibility.

Skateboarding and Surfing

Action sports cultures embraced the hoodie for similar practical and identity reasons. Skateboarders appreciated its protection during falls and its relaxed fit that didn't restrict movement. Surfers wore hoodies on cold beaches and to maintain warmth between sessions. Brands like Stüssy and Volcom built empires partly on hoodie sales to these communities.

Punk and Grunge

The DIY aesthetic of punk rock and later grunge embraced the hoodie's anti-fashion credentials. A worn, faded hoodie communicated rejection of mainstream fashion's emphasis on appearance. The hoodie became uniform for those who wanted to appear unconcerned with how they looked.

Controversy and the Hoodie

The hoodie's association with youth subcultures—particularly those involving young men of colour—led to controversy. By the 2000s, hoodies had become unfairly linked in public discourse with crime and antisocial behaviour. Some UK shopping centres banned hoodies entirely, and politicians debated the garment's social implications.

This controversy, while troubling, reflected the hoodie's power as a symbol. The garment had transcended mere clothing to become loaded with social meaning. Wearing a hoodie could be a political statement, a rejection of respectability politics, or simply a choice of comfortable clothing unfairly scrutinized.

The 2012 death of Trayvon Martin in the United States, who was wearing a hoodie when killed, sparked "Million Hoodie Marches" where participants wore hoodies in solidarity. The garment became explicitly political, representing both tragedy and resistance.

High Fashion Embraces the Hoodie: 2000s-Present

Perhaps the most surprising development in the hoodie's history is its embrace by high fashion. Luxury brands that once would never consider producing such casual garments now offer hoodies at premium prices.

This shift began in the early 2000s when streetwear and high fashion began to converge. Designers like Raf Simons and Riccardo Tisci incorporated hoodies into runway collections. Supreme, a skateboarding brand, collaborated with Louis Vuitton. The boundaries between street and luxury blurred.

Today, hoodies from brands like Balenciaga, Vetements, and Off-White sell for hundreds or thousands of dollars. These luxury hoodies often intentionally reference the garment's working-class and subcultural origins, commodifying authenticity for affluent consumers. Whether this represents democratisation of fashion or appropriation of subculture depends on your perspective.

The Tech Industry Uniform

Another cultural shift occurred when Silicon Valley adopted the hoodie as its unofficial uniform. Mark Zuckerberg's grey hoodie became as iconic as Steve Jobs' black turtleneck. The hoodie represented tech culture's casual, anti-corporate ethos—even as these companies grew into the world's most valuable corporations.

This association reinforced the hoodie's image as attire for focused work and intellectual pursuit. The same garment that started as warehouse workwear found new functional purpose in air-conditioned offices where programmers valued comfort during long coding sessions.

The Hoodie Today

Contemporary hoodies span an enormous range, from $15 basics to $1,500 designer pieces. The garment has been deconstructed, reconstructed, and reimagined by fashion designers worldwide. Yet the fundamental design—hooded sweatshirt with front pocket—remains largely unchanged from Champion's 1930s original.

This durability testifies to the hoodie's functional excellence. The design works. It provides warmth, comfort, and practical pockets in a format that suits almost any body type and countless activities. Fashion trends come and go, but the hoodie endures because it genuinely serves its purpose well.

The Hoodie in Australia

Australian hoodie culture follows global trends while reflecting local conditions. The hoodie arrived through American cultural influence—athletics, hip-hop, and skateboarding all reached Australian youth through media and global brands.

Australian weather, milder than much of North America, means lightweight and mid-weight hoodies predominate. The heavy fleece hoodies popular in colder climates see less use here, except in southern states during winter. Australian surfing and skate culture created local demand for beach-appropriate hoodies from brands like Rip Curl and Billabong.

Today, the hoodie occupies the same wardrobe staple position in Australia as elsewhere—equally appropriate for weekend errands, casual work environments, and evening relaxation. The garment's journey from New York warehouses to Australian suburbs represents genuine globalisation of casual fashion.

Understanding the hoodie's history enriches appreciation for this everyday garment. What began as practical workwear became athletic uniform, then subcultural symbol, then fashion statement. Through each transformation, the hoodie's fundamental appeal—comfortable, practical, versatile—remained constant. That's why, nearly a century after Champion's innovation, we're still reaching for hoodies when we want to feel comfortable and relaxed.