When we talk about fashion today, streetwear will always creep up one way or another. What started on the streets worked its way up the fashion industry’s ladder. From high-end brands hopping on the bandwagon to the OG brands that launched in the 80s and 90s, we have it all. However, one brand has stood the test of time ever since its opening in the 90s. And if you’re here, then you already know that the brand in question is Supreme. So today, we’ll go through the history of the brand and how it evolved up until our current times. Welcome to the complete history of Supreme, the streetwear giant!
In this post, we’ll be covering the following:
- What Is Supreme?
- How Did It Become So Popular?
- Lawsuits ‘n’ Trademarks!
- The Supreme Bot Talk
- Best Of Supreme
- Personal Favorites
- Why We Love Supreme!
What Is Supreme?
Supreme is a streetwear brand founded in 1994 by James Jebbia. Jebbia was originally the store manager of Stüssy (another streetwear OG) in New York in the early nineties. While streetwear wasn’t exactly something new, Jebbia’s brand catered to the skateboarding community. This is a niche community that started in New York and grew to be one of the best street sports for youths in the 90s… and an Olympic sport in 2020. The first store’s location was on Lafayette Street, Manhattan.
The store’s design itself took the skaters’ comfort into consideration. The clothes were lined on the perimeter of the store for them to skate into the shop comfortably. The OG staff were all skaters too, the only exception being the owner himself! With all that in mind, supreme became a safe haven for skaters and catered for them only. But little did we know, the brand will grow and take the fashion world by storm! In fact, it grew so big that in 2020, VF Corp. acquired Supreme for $2.1 billion. The company also owns Vans, The North Face, and many other subsidiaries.
How Did the Brand Reach Such Popularity
Well, Supreme became the streetwear giant we know for several reasons. The first one is the fact that the brand offers a wide variety of items. This means that whatever your interest might be, you’ll find something for you there. Another reason is that they always underproduce the demand quantity, so they’re almost always exclusive. Thirdly, the brand knows how to select its collaborations, with interesting industry crossovers. Finally, the brand is the child of the street culture, and as long as streetwear is relevant, so is Supreme!
Timeline and Milestones of the Brand
Why Is Streetwear A Big Thing?
Streetwear has always been around because technically speaking, it’s the casual clothing style. Skaters initially adopted this style because comfort is a must when in action. Stüssy, aka the oldest streetwear brand, was one of the important catalysts for streetwear to become the norm. Dating back to 1980, it certainly helped shape the industry. So people started slowly catching the hype, which eventually led to streetwear reaching the high-end status. In 2020, streetwear is still going strong! But where does the Japanese scene fit into all of this?
The Japanese Influence
The Japanese street fashion scene is extremely versatile. It has always been a way for individuals to express themselves and their art through outfits. This expression made Japan one of the most important destinations to catch the latest trends and follow up with the style on the street. Japanese brands made Japan’s status as a streetwear icon even stronger. And that also applies to the sneaker industry. After all, Jordan Brand doesn’t have the CO.JP line for nothing! Some of these brands, you might have stumbled upon during your journey into the streetwear rabbit hole.
Some of the staples in Japanese streetwear are Bape, Visvim, Comme des Garçons, and Fragment Design. Moreover, Hiroshi Fujiwara, the brain behind Fragment, is considered the godfather of streetwear around the world! Now, James Jebbia realized how important it is to invest in the Japanese market when Japanese tourists made his store one of their shopping destinations. This led to the opening of three stores in Tokyo in 1998 located in Daikanyama, Osaka, and Fukuoka.
Locations of Supreme Stores
Speaking of Supreme stores, it’s worth noting that the brand is now an international phenomenon. So, if you wanna see all the current store locations, check this out. Meanwhile, we’re all kinda sad because Supreme closed the OG Lafayette store in 2019! For many fans it felt like the end of an era… and in a way, it was.
The Seasons and Weekly Drops
If you’re new to the streetwear scene, you’re probably wondering what drops and seasons in Supreme terms mean. So we’ll break it down for you right now! You’re probably aware of luxury fashion weeks and seasons. However, Supreme’s release calendar is much different than we’re used to in the fashion world.
Although it has the usual Fall-Winter Spring-Summer cycle, the drop system consists of weekly releases that span over about 5 months (19 – 20 weeks). So every Thursday at 11 AM EST, a new part of the collection drops at the online and physical stores. Finally, the break between the seasons is about 2 months, and then we’re back to the streetwear war!
Lawsuits ‘n’ Trademarks!
Supreme is a brand that appropriates other brands to sell their own products and mostly gets away with it. However, they do have their fair share of Cease and Desist letters! Think of it like Nike’s lawsuit streak but in reverse. We all remember the Louis Vuitton Cease and Desist letter. This is kinda ironic since they collaborated with Supreme later down the line. Another possible example is SS18’s Alphabet pieces because the letters are the work of the French artist Erté. But the best call out that Supreme ever received was Farmland Foods’ tweet when Supreme copied their logo!
The Trademark Battle
This section is a full circle of irony. Supreme’s logo is technically a ripoff of Barbara Kruger’s art (we’ll talk about that later). Moreover, we already talked about brand appropriation, so where’s the irony? The irony is the fact that Supreme sued the knock-off Supreme Italia brand! Here is the full rundown of the story.
Supreme filed another lawsuit on another occasion. This time the receiving end was the NYC-based brand Married to the Mob (MTTB). They dropped box logos that said “Supreme Bitch” and Supreme considered that an infringement. However, the best thing to transpire from this legal battle is Barbara Kruger’s comment on it! When asked about this, the artist simply thinks that this is “a ridiculous clusterf**k of totally uncool jokers.” Well, who are we to argue?
The Supreme Bot Debate
Are they legal, are they not? Are they ethical, or are they not?
This depends on how you look at bots and those who use them and why they use them. This, in fact, has to be the most controversial topic in our industry. But to put things into perspective, you almost can’t buy a valuable Supreme item online without a Supreme bot. Unless you like doing things the old-fashioned way and lining up along with hundreds of Supreme fans in front of a store, bots are the way to go.
The reasons why you need a Supreme bot will get clearer as you progress with this post, but to sum them up:
- Demand for Supreme is so high you stand almost no chance of buying
- Supreme items sell out very fast and only a bot can get through
- If you cop Supreme items, you can sell them for a pretty good profit margin!
- In the long run, items as insignificant as stickers can turn into fortunes when they’re vintage.
So, basically, we’re looking at an incredibly great investment here, especially if you’re also interested in sneaker reselling. You see, an all-in-one bot is just the thing you need here. And ever since Supreme made the switch to Shopify, that made life easier for sneakerheads! Now, when you make the right choice and buy a bot as powerful as NSB3, you’re in for a treat. Loads of treats that sell out for lots of profit.
You see, NSB3 is one of the TOP sneaker bots in the industry selling for a very reasonable price. Moreover, it’s always available for you right here. NSB3 kicks on all the sites that matter, from Shopify to Nike SNKRS! So, if you’re into sneakers, streetwear, Supreme, or collectibles like Funko Pops, NSB3 is all you need.
Need a tad bit more convincing to hop on the hype train? Read on to know why Supreme is such a big deal, and why you need to get involved.
Best of Supreme
Best Supreme Sneakers
The following ranking is based on the average resale value of the sneakers.
Supreme x Nike Dunk SB Low “Black Cement”
The OG of successful Supreme sneaker collaborations. The colorway is inspired by the OG Air Jordan 3 colorway with its elephant print and bred colors. As always, the Supreme releases are exclusive, that’s why there were only 500 pairs available for the public! So if you’re one of the lucky 500 owners of the kicks, you technically own a small fortune!
Nike Dunk Pro SB Blue Stars
The second installation of the Nike x Supreme partnership took on a different direction this time! Three different colorways of the Nike Dunk High Pro SB were available: Red, blue, and orange. Although the three are valuable, the blue iteration takes the cake! With the golden stars on the side panels and Supreme lace lock, the kicks were candy to the eyes. A lesser-known, rejected sample featured the Nike branding instead of the stars. However, they stopped their production due to legal issues.
Supreme x Nike Dunk SB Low “Red Cement”
A decade after the initial SB Dunk collaboration, Supreme and Nike hit us with a new red colorway. The fire-red cement pair was a bit more accessible than the original kicks, but that didn’t make them easier to own! They became almost as popular as the 2002 legendary pair!
Supreme Nike SB Blazer Red
The inspiration behind this one is the bling of the 1980s! The golden heel tab, the Gucci-like stripe, and the quilt-looking leather upper scream street luxury. And honestly, it’s worth the luxury price in 2020.
Supreme Nike Air Foamposite Black
A pair so hype it caused a shutdown in the New York store on release day! The number of people who camped out to wait for the release and the number that showed up the same day was enough for the NYPD to come and shut the whole thing down! The release went exclusive online and people left with no kicks. But we have to admit, they were worth the wait.
Last Decade’s Best 5 Bogo Tees
The section we all love! The Supreme Box Logo, or Bogo for short, became one of the most recognizable logos in the world. However, the origin of the Bogo is actually some sort of a rip-off. The Futura Heavy Oblique font and the red box background were originally created by Barbara Kruger. Kruger is an American artist and collagist who introduced the box logo concept in 1981! This has been her trademark ever since.
Fast forward to 1995, and the first Box Logo tee saw the light of day! And whether it is considered a legit rip-off or not is a matter of personal opinion. After all, according to Barbara Kruger, she doesn’t own the font! From then on, the Supreme saga of “brand” inspired releases began! And now, we’re going to share the most valuable Bogo Tees of the last decade.
The tees’ ranking is according to their average resale value!
Supreme x Louis Vuitton Bogo – White
17 years after their cease and desist letter, Louis Vuitton and Supreme joined ranks! Officially this time. The collaboration took both the street culture and the high-end fashion world by storm. This release included a lot of interesting items, but the box logo is always the must-have of any pack!
Supreme Paris Bogo Tee – White
It’s a Supreme tradition to drop a Bogo tee when a new store opens. So on the day the Paris store officially opened its doors, the Bogo stole the show! The front featured your usual box logo. However, the back had “Bonjour Madame” and the opening date on it. Naturally, the tee was pretty exclusive, which means a really high resale value!
Supreme Swarovski Bogo (25th Anniversary) – Black
It’s not every day that a store turns a quarter of a century old, right? So to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the brand, Supreme dropped the Swarovski Bogo! The usual box logo was made of Swarovski crystals. So it’s a state-of-the-art Box logo that any Supreme collector must have!
Supreme 20th Anniversary Bogo – White
What better celebration could we ask for? After 20 years of extreme popularity, Supreme dropped a simple Box Logo for streetwear lovers. The tee featured the OG red Bogo. But if you inspect the tee closely, you’ll find a medal rosette on the back of the tee with “20th anniversary Supreme” with the 1994 – 2014 dates. So if you consider yourself a Supreme aficionado, this tee must be in your collection. Or sold from your collection.
Best Non-Bogo Logos
Although the Box Logo is usually the best seller among Supreme items, we can’t ignore other logos! Some of them are sometimes worth a lot of money on the resale market. So let’s take a look at some of the cool non-bogo logos.
Motion Logo
This is an interesting one but for more than how cool it is! This logo is inspired by the 1990’s Goodfellas title sequence. It was designed by Saul Bass, one of the greatest graphic designers of the 20th century!
Supreme with Accented “e”
Just to reinforce the fact that Supreme takes inspiration from other brands, we’ve got this. The Frenchy-looking Supreme logo with an accented “e” “Suprème” is immediately recognizable. It features the same font and design as the famous Courrèges logo. The French brand dates back to 1961. André Courrèges, the founder, is famous for creating the miniskirt!
Arabic Text
Leave it to Supreme to give us interesting and controversial logos! The Arabic logo checks all the right boxes. It’s visually appealing, can become a box logo, and is inclusive. However, the word doesn’t mean Supreme in Arabic, as odd as it may sound. It actually means “Glory Be To”, which is even more intriguing. Maybe they didn’t find the Arabic counterpart of Supreme marketable enough?
Weirdest Accessories
Now we’re going to the realm of “What the heck is this?” Supreme never fails to surprise us with literal jaw-droppers, which proves two things. First, the creative team at Supreme are really awesome people. Second, anything with a Supreme tag (or bogo) sells out! Even Oreo cookies. So now we’re going to show you some of their funkiest (or flat-out creepiest) works.
Voodoo Doll
Ever wanted to stab something to let off some steam? Well, Supreme definitely felt your anger management struggles because they dropped a Voodoo Doll along with some pins! With that Voodoo doll, you could make your enemy go through a lot of trouble without having to go to jail for doing so. The problems range from No Wifi to stuff as gruesome as Eternal Pain. Though with the COVID-19 lockdown extended in many regions of the world, “No Wifi” sounds a lot more painful.
Brick
This is a ridiculously weird item. But it’s become a THING. Like: “Hey, you know Supreme?”, “You mean the brand that sold a brick?”. So, just to prove that Supreme always sells, they sold a brick with a Supreme print! That’s one way to build a branded house! A brick can be a nod to the fact that they don’t sell “bricks”! In streetwear and the sneaker industry, a “brick” is an item that sits on the shelf and doesn’t sell. So that might be the biggest Supreme troll to date!
Anatomy Models
Just when you thought things couldn’t get too… deep, they actually do. And by deep we mean what’s-under-your-skin deep. The Supreme anatomy models are certainly high up on the list of interesting accessories by the brand. But well, if you’re a teacher with style, this is just the thing for you! The models come in both male and female versions, the torso is transparent with detachable parts (organs). Who said learning can’t be fun and cool?
Cupid Figurine
When we say weird items, this is exactly what we go for. Meissen is a prestigious porcelain company, founded by Kind Augustus the Strong, King of Poland. But their collaboration with Supreme on a Cupid statue wearing a bogo introduced the brand to a whole new type of clientele! And we can’t say that we hate it, it’s every Supreme collector’s dream!
Transparent Lock
If you wanna (questionably) hone your lockpicking skills, Supreme has your back… no questions asked. The practice lock has a clear outside with all the details visible on the inside. And who knows? Maybe in seasons to come, they’ll drop a lockpick set to complete the collection. But anyway, in case no one told you today, make good choices peeps!
Everything We Love About Supreme!
Love it or hate it, you can’t ignore the impact Supreme has on the streetwear industry. But aside from its influence, we’ve got a lot of reasons to love the brand. First of all, the brand is, and always has been, inclusive. Despite starting out as a niche brand for skaters, it grew into an international popularity. It blurred the line between luxury and comfort too while being gender-inclusive. The sizes cover a wide range, so you don’t have to worry about not finding a hoodie that fits!
Did you think that’s all? Nope, we still have more reasons to love Supreme! One of them is the fact that Supreme highlights artists and musicians that otherwise would be known to only a small group of people. Plus, they collaborate with international artists too! The collabs are also versatile, catering to all tastes. Supreme didn’t forget about sports fans either, for some of their sporty collabs are worth a lot! And finally, the price range is really wide. Starting at $4 and up to a couple thousand, Supreme items are budget-friendly no matter your budget!
Now that you know everything about the brand, maybe it’s time to keep an eye on upcoming drops! Who knows? The next item you buy could be your ticket into a decent profit. Godspeed!
