Supreme has been making waves in Streetwear since its inception in 1994. Though it is there unorthodox collaborations that have garnered the attention of people outside the skateboarding subculture.
Supreme isn’t something that you just hear about. It’s something that you see. Founded in 1994 by James Jebbia after he left his management position at Stussy, it was valued in 2017 as having a total equity of $1Billion. With 12 stores worldwide and a foothold on the zeitgeist of “Hype” fashion, the brand is well established in having a support base that sells out every new drop in minutes.
The minimalist box logo design has become synonymous with a generation of “Hypebeasts”, people who spend their money on big streetwear brands to flex and stunt on their haters. This style of fashion is becoming less of a niche and has blossomed into the mainstream in recent years.
At retail price, their seasonally based collections usually range from $35 – $800 USD per drop, with their resale value always higher and mightier.
What makes Supreme so high in demand and so iconic is not just the quality and style of their clothes and skateboards, but it’s the brands they collaborate and the paraphernalia they produce with them.
Supreme has put its figurative hands on any and every niche market they can find. Starting in the fashion world, they have partnered with brands such as Nike, Louis Vuitton, GORE-TEX, The North Face, Vans and Lacoste just to name a few. They’ve even worked with films such as Taxi Driver and Scarface before.
The Nike collaborations include a pair of Air More Uptempos that will cost you a pretty $1,300 on resale, and a pair of SB Dunk Highs that’ll set you back almost $10k according to resale website Stock X.
The Louis Vuttion collaborative collection debuted at Paris Fashion week in 2017, and still those pieces cost thousands upon thousands on resale. There’s even a trunk that will set you back $500,000, serving as one of the world’s most boujee storage solutions.
The crazier of the collaborations comes with big name brands sporting items not so closely related to clothing. Supreme branded Band-Aids courtesy of Johnson & Johnson, measuring cups courtesy of Pyrex and swimming caps with matching goggles made by Speedo are a microdose into the chasm that is the Supreme x “Insert Brand Here” regime.
SOG and Supreme made a series of tools such as knives, shovels and of course hatchets. There’s an electric Fender Stratocaster guitar worth $9k with the Supreme branding only on its body. If you’re after a little more relaxation, light up a rolly with their line of Zippo lighters.
Want to go camping next long weekend? Well, with your hatchets you can get an inflatable Kayak for a breezy $600 courtesy of Advanced Elements. You can play cards with their Bicycle branded playing cards, only $80. If you’re racing to the finish line don’t forget your Tag Heuer stopwatch with a little Supreme logo slapped on for $200.
It’s not all collaborative either. Supreme just makes these items because they can. They made an inflatable chair worth $300 because why the hell wouldn’t they? They even have a set of chopsticks for those indulging in fine Asian cuisine. And speaking of indulgence, Supreme even made an Oreo. Yep, an Oreo that resold on eBay for $92,000 a pack at one point before being taken down. Fortunately, you cannot buy them anymore. Ok you can but if you do, don’t eat them, their shelf life is only 180 days and they made them at the start of the year.
The craziest part of all of Supreme’s cross branding is how powerful that seven letter word is. That guitar I mentioned retails regularly for $1,998. With the word “Supreme” slapped on it, relatively small mind you, it’s now worth $9k on resale. That’s the power of the name and the branding. Whoever said the car depreciates in value when you drive out of the dealership was kidding themselves.
As Supreme continues to rule the world of collaborative fashion, you can be assured you’ll see more and more of your friends shaking their Supreme x Fujifilm polaroids of your time in paradise. (And yes, of course I bought the Band-Aids. Who wouldn’t want to heal their boo-boo in such style?).
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