The hood is centuries older than the sweatshirt. Medieval monks wore a hooded cowl, and outdoor workers commonly wore hooded capes, while a short hooded cloak called the capa was common in Normandy and may have brought the style to England after 1066. The modern hooded pullover, though, is an American invention of the 1930s, when Champion began making it in Rochester, New York, for workers in freezing warehouses and factories. It moved into fashion in the 1970s, when hip hop culture in New York and designers such as Norma Kamali embraced it, and it became a sporting staple after its prominent appearance in the 1976 film Rocky. By the 1990s it had become a signal of withdrawal, linked to skaters, surfers and UK ravers, and major designers such as Ralph Lauren and Armani were using it in their collections.

Hampi is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Karnataka, India, with more than 1,600 surviving remains spread over 4,100 hectares. It was the capital of the Vijayanagara Empire from 1336 to 1565. Travellers from Persia and Portugal described it as a prosperous, wealthy and grand city with temples, markets and farms along the Tungabhadra River. By 1500 it was estimated to be the world's second-largest city after Beijing, and probably India's richest at the time. In 1565 a coalition of Muslim sultanates defeated the Vijayanagara Empire, its capital was conquered and destroyed, and the city was left in ruins. Hampi remains a religious centre, with the active Virupaksha Temple at its heart.