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Paola Antonelli: The 3,000-year history of the hoodie
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The hoodie is a lot more than just a comfy sweatshirt. Design curator Paola Antonelli takes us through its history.
Paola Antonelli - Design curator
Paola Antonelli is on a mission to introduce -- and explain -- design to the world. With her shows at New York's Museum of Modern Art, she celebrates design's presence in every part of life. Full bio
Paola Antonelli is on a mission to introduce -- and explain -- design to the world. With her shows at New York's Museum of Modern Art, she celebrates design's presence in every part of life. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
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The hoodie is an amazing object.
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It's one of those timeless objects
that we hardly think of,
that we hardly think of,
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because they work so well
that they're part of our lives.
that they're part of our lives.
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We call them "humble masterpieces."
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[Small thing.]
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[Big idea.]
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[Paola Antonelli on
the Hoodie]
the Hoodie]
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The hoodie has been --
even if it was not called so --
even if it was not called so --
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it's been an icon throughout history
for good and for bad reasons.
for good and for bad reasons.
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The earliest ones that we can trace
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are from ancient Greece and ancient Rome.
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The Middle Ages, you see a lot of monks
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that were wearing garments
that were cape-like, with hoods attached,
that were cape-like, with hoods attached,
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so therefore, "hoodies."
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Ladies in the 17th century
would wear hoodies
would wear hoodies
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to kind of hide themselves
when they were going to meet their lovers.
when they were going to meet their lovers.
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And then, of course,
there's the legend, there's fantasy.
there's the legend, there's fantasy.
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There's the image of the hoodie
connected to the grim reaper.
connected to the grim reaper.
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There's the image of the hoodie
connected to the executioner.
connected to the executioner.
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So there's the dark side of the hoodie.
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The modern incarnation of the hoodie --
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a garment that's made
usually of cotton jersey,
usually of cotton jersey,
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that has a hood attached
with a drawstring;
with a drawstring;
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sometimes it has a marsupial pocket --
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was introduced in the 1930s
by Knickerbocker Knitting Company.
by Knickerbocker Knitting Company.
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Now it's called Champion.
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It was meant to keep athletes warm.
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Of course, though, it was
such a functional, comfortable garment
such a functional, comfortable garment
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that it was very rapidly adopted
by workmen everywhere.
by workmen everywhere.
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And then, around the 1980s,
it also gets adopted
it also gets adopted
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by hip-hop and B-boys, skateboarders,
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and it takes on this kind of
youth street culture.
youth street culture.
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It was, at the same time,
super-comfortable,
super-comfortable,
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perfect for the streets
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and also had that added value of anonymity
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when you needed it.
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And then we have Mark Zuckerberg,
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who defies convention
of respectable attire for businesspeople.
of respectable attire for businesspeople.
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But interestingly, it's also a way to show
how power has changed.
how power has changed.
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If you're wearing a two-piece suit,
you might be the bodyguard.
you might be the bodyguard.
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The real powerful person is wearing
a hoodie with a T-shirt and jeans.
a hoodie with a T-shirt and jeans.
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It's easy to think of
the physical aspects of the hoodie.
the physical aspects of the hoodie.
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You can immediately think
of wearing the hood up,
of wearing the hood up,
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and you feel this warmth
and this protection,
and this protection,
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but at the same time,
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you can also feel
the psychological aspects of it.
the psychological aspects of it.
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I mean, think of donning a hoodie,
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all of a sudden, you feel more protected,
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you feel that you are in your own shell.
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We know very well what the hoodie
has come to signify
has come to signify
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in the past few years
in the United States.
in the United States.
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When Trayvon Martin, a 17-year-old
African-American kid,
African-American kid,
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was shot by a neighborhood vigilante,
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and Million Hoodie Marches happened
all over the United States,
all over the United States,
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in which people wore hoodies
with the hood up
with the hood up
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and marched in the streets
against this kind of prejudice.
against this kind of prejudice.
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It doesn't happen that often
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for a garment to have
so much symbolism and history
so much symbolism and history
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and that encompasses
so many different universes
so many different universes
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as the hoodie.
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So, like all garments,
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especially all truly utilitarian garments,
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it is very basic in its design.
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But at the same time,
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it has a whole universe
of possibilities attached.
of possibilities attached.
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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Paola Antonelli - Design curatorPaola Antonelli is on a mission to introduce -- and explain -- design to the world. With her shows at New York's Museum of Modern Art, she celebrates design's presence in every part of life.
Why you should listen
Since she stepped back from practicing architecture in order to focus on writing about design, teaching and curating gallery exhibitions, Italian native Paola Antonelli has become a force to be reckoned with in the design world. Working at the Museum of Modern Art in New York since 1994, she is senior curator of the gallery's Architecture and Design department and, as of 2012, the museum's first ever director of research and development. Antonelli has worked on shows such as "Humble Masterpieces," which celebrated traditionally unheralded design icons such as the paperclip; "Design and the Elastic Mind," considering the relationship of design and technology, and "Talk to Me ," which looked at design and the communication of people and objects.
Ever mindful that the majority of visitors to MOMA are attracted by artists such as Picasso and Matisse, Antonelli works to ensure that if they do stumble across a design-related show, they'll be both entertained and enlightened. In 2012, she led a move to acquire 14 video games for the museum's permanent collection.
Paola Antonelli | Speaker | TED.com