A small revolution, then. For us, who have always sung the praises of formal style, working for 11 years to make it more modern and accessible, working on a hooded sweatshirt may seem surprising. Yet it seemed important to include it in our autumn-winter 2024 collection, for two reasons.
The first is that clothing now lives in the age of comfort, under the combined effects of the health crisis, the widespread adoption of remote working and the ongoing relaxation of dress codes. We therefore had to adapt to this new reality and offer the 21st-century man this now essential garment.
The second is a more ambitious aim: to interpret the hoodie with a shirtmaker’s expertise. At heart, this was the challenge we found most worthwhile: offering the most sportswear of pieces the attention and exacting standards usually reserved for formal dress.
Whether you favour sport-chic style, love relaxed looks or simply appreciate ease, discover without further ado the piece you never thought you would find at Hast.
Sporting origins, naturally.
A hoodie is a hooded sweatshirt . And a sweatshirt is literally a “shirt for sweating”. That sets the tone.
Invented in the United States in the 1920s, this textile innovation came to the aid of North American students who could no longer bear the heavy wool knits that then ruled the sporting world. According to legend, one of them begged his father – director of the Russell Manufacturing Company – to make him soft, absorbent kit in place of his bulky, uncomfortable jumpers. Without hesitation, Benjamin Russell developed a collarless cotton jersey shirt, unaware that he had just created a legend.
Soon after, a New York company called Knickerbocker Knitting Mills (better known today as “Champion”) added a hood and horizontal jersey panels, definitively giving fashion one of its most famous creations: the hoodie.
Invented for athletes before being adopted by workers for its insulating properties, the hoodie has come a long way in a century, now thriving from sofas to fashion shows, via every open space in France and beyond.
The anatomy of our hoodie.
For a brand like Hast, whose core business has revolved around the shirt for more than ten years, taking on the hoodie was a real challenge. Unlike our signature piece, precious and refined, the hoodie is far more casual. Like the distance between the formal world and the sportswear sphere, the gap between the two is almost total.
Rather than seeing an incompatibility, we chose to see an opportunity, promising ourselves to approach the hooded sweatshirt as we would any other Hast garment: with an imperative for balance, precision and responsibility.
Meticulous sourcing of the raw material, exacting standards in selecting the yarn, rigour in choosing the knit stitch, great care in making, absolute attention through to the final finishes, and meticulous selection of our European partners: quite simply, we took pride in designing this hoodie with a tailor’s precision, just as we did when creating our T-shirts.
Ultimately, we do not know whether we are looking at the most refined of casual garments or the most casual of distinguished pieces, but one thing is certain: sportswear has never been treated with such consideration.
Between us, here are the details that make all the difference and make the Hast hoodie such a distinctive knit:
- First, we selected a heavyweight 452 gr/m2 fabric. On the market, it is among the most substantial in terms of density. A guarantee of warmth and durability, you can rely on it through every mid-season and into the depths of winter.
- Jersey panels assembled in reverse weave. Look closely and you will see that the stitches run horizontally, using a technique patented by Champion in 1938. Uncommon today, this method has a practical benefit beyond its aesthetic dimension. As jersey can shrink slightly in the wash, reverse weave allows it to shrink widthways rather than lengthways. Better a slightly more fitted hoodie than one that is far too short, isn’t it? That said, we took care to wash the fabric beforehand, which is why ours is already stabilised. You can therefore choose your usual size without fearing any shrinkage.
- A skilfully crafted raglan armhole. If you are unfamiliar with this construction technique, which connects the sleeve directly to the neckline, you may well fall in love with its comfort. Maximum freedom of movement and a beautifully shaped shoulder line: that was all it took to win us over.
- A lined hood in the same fabric as the body. Whether to ensure its structure or enhance its protection, it was a key point in our specifications.
- A 100% cotton jersey. While most brands choose to add polyester to their hoodies, often for stability and strength, we opted for all-cotton. With the reverse weave and the density of our jersey ensuring an unshakeable, hard-wearing hoodie, we were able to favour 100% natural material without compromising its durability. Just like the rest of our wardrobe.
- Two colourways on offer, including an ecru « no dye ». Alongside the grey sweatshirt, the historic colour of this piece, we wanted to include an undyed white hoodie. A more environmentally conscious process, it reveals cotton in its natural state, with a little extra soul.
- European craftsmanship, as always. If you know our attachment to local craftsmanship and the importance we place on proximity, you will not be surprised to learn that we entrusted the making of our hoodies to a Portuguese partner based just a few hundred kilometres from you.
A sporting piece at ease away from the field
Over a century, the hooded sweatshirt has moved away from the sporting facilities that were its first home. Today, the hoodie seems at home everywhere, and ours says no different.
You will see it in the looks we have put together: this is a piece that can hold its own across most contemporary styles, from the most relaxed to the most dressed-up. While it can of course be taken literally, paired with tracksuit trousers, it is equally possible, if not desirable, to take it in less conventional directions.
With jeans or chinos, of course, but also as part of more daring combinations. For our part, we find it particularly successful with military trousers or even pleated trousers. To accompany it, a shirt with its collar showing or its hem escaping would look truly excellent. As would a smart coat, from which you would let your hood emerge with (not quite) studied nonchalance.
In short, its possibilities are truly endless, and we recommend making the most of its incredible potential.
A note on care
By choosing to work on the hoodie as a “precious piece”, we also had to accept making it a delicate garment. As a team, we felt the game was worth the candle, so you will not be able to clean it like an ordinary tracksuit.
We also recommend hand-washing it every 6-8 wears, in a mixture of cold soapy water. Then press out the water (rather than wringing it) before leaving it to dry flat, preferably away from direct sunlight.
