Al Pacino dressed casually in a hoodie in 1971. I didn’t even realize hoodies were around that early. The modern hoodie was actually introduced in the 1930s by Champion, which created hooded sweatshirts for workers and athletes who needed protection from harsh cold conditions, particularly laborers in freezing warehouses in upstate New York. While hooded garments themselves go back centuries to medieval Europe, the modern sweatshirt-style hoodie first emerged during this era as practical workwear. Hoodies really took off in the 1970s, especially in New York City through hip-hop culture, graffiti artists, skateboarders, and urban street fashion. Their popularity exploded even further after Rocky, where Sylvester Stallone famously wore a gray hoodie during the film’s iconic training scenes. By the 1980s and 1990s, hoodies had become fully mainstream, evolving from basic athletic and workwear into one of the most common casual clothing items in the world.(Historic Vids)