Supreme is an American clothing and skateboarding lifestyle brand established in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

in April 1994. The brand aims to appeal to youth culture in general as well as the skateboarding and hip hop scenes specifically. The company makes skateboards in addition to clothing and accessories. The red box logo with "Supreme" in white Futura Heavy Oblique is thought to be largely based on Barbara Kruger's art. The Supreme brand is popular in China, Japan, Europe and the US. Supreme is owned by VF Corporation.

History

The brand was founded by James Jebbia in 1994. The first Supreme store opened in an old office space on Lafayette Street in Lower

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the List of co ...

in April 1994. It was designed with skaters in mind with a unique design for the store layout: by arranging the clothes around the perimeter of the store, a large central space permitted skaters with backpacks to skate into the store and still feel comfortable. This store had its core group of skaters who served as its team in 1994, which included late actors Justin Pierce and Harold Hunter, and the first employees were extras from the Larry Clark film ''

Kids Kid, Kids, KIDS, and K.I.D.S. may refer to: Common meanings * Colloquial term for a child or other young person ** Also for a parent's offspring regardless of age * Engage in joking * Young goats * The goat meat of young goats * Kidskin ...

''. Jebbia explained that he opened Supreme in lower Manhattan because at the time there was nowhere else to buy skate products in the area. He focused primarily on more obscure, harder-to-find items and credited the open-mindedness of skaters with the brand's ability to take risks. In 2004, a second location was opened on North Fairfax Ave in Los Angeles, California, which is nearly double the size of the original New York City store and features an indoor skate bowl. Other locations include Paris, which opened in 2016, London, which opened in September 2011, Tokyo ( Harajuku, Daikanyama and

Shibuya Shibuya ( 渋谷区 ''Shibuya-ku'') is a special ward in Tokyo, Japan. As a major commercial and finance center, it houses two of the busiest railway stations in the world, Shinjuku Station (southern half) and Shibuya Station. As of April 1 ...

Nagoya is the largest city in the Chūbu region, the fourth-most populous city and third most populous urban area in Japan, with a population of 2.3million in 2020. Located on the Pacific coast in central Honshu, it is the capital and the most p ...

Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of ...

, and

Fukuoka is the List of Japanese cities by population, sixth-largest city in Japan, the second-largest port city after Yokohama, and the capital city of Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. The city is built along the shores of Hakata Bay, and has been a center ...

. The additional locations emulate the original Lafayette Street store's design; stores feature rotating art displays, and use videos and music to attract attention. Supreme stocks its own clothing label, as well as other skateboard brands such as

Vans Vans is an American manufacturer of skateboarding shoes and related apparel, established in Anaheim, California, and owned by VF Corporation. The company also sponsors surf, snowboarding, BMX, and motocross teams. From 1996 to 2019, the co ...

, Nike SB, Spitfire Wheels, and Thrasher, among others. James Jebbia was quoted in saying that anything that Supreme releases will never be classified as "limited," but notes that they make short runs of their products because they "don't want to get stuck with stuff nobody wants." Supreme releases two collections each year. Instead of offering the entire line at once, the brand releases a few pieces online and in-store from the current

season A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and po ...

’s collection every

Thursday Thursday is the day of the week between Wednesday and Friday. According to the ISO 8601 international standard, it is the fourth day of the week. In countries which adopt the "Sunday-first" convention, it is the fifth day of the week. Name ''Se ...

. In October 2017, Supreme opened their 11th store and second in New York City in the

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neighborhood of

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Kings County is the most populous Administrative divisions of New York (state)#County, county in the State of New York, ...

. On October 6, 2017, James Jebbia confirmed that the label had sold a significant stake in the company of roughly 50% (around $500 million) to

private equity In the field of finance, the term private equity (PE) refers to investment funds, usually limited partnerships (LP), which buy and restructure financially weak companies that produce goods and provide services. A private-equity fund is both a typ ...

firm

The Carlyle Group The Carlyle Group is a multinational private equity, alternative asset management and financial services corporation based in the United States with $376 billion of assets under management. It specializes in private equity, real assets, and ...

. On February 25, 2019, Supreme moved their original Manhattan location from 274 Lafayette Street to 190 Bowery. Supreme opened its 12th store on Market Street in San Francisco in October 2019. In 2019, a collection of every Supreme deck ever produced sold for $800,000 at a Sotheby's auction. In November 2020, VF Corporation announced that they agreed to buy Supreme in an all cash deal for US$2.1 billion. VF Corporation bought out the investors Carlyle Group and Goode Partners LLC, as well as founder James Jebbia. According to VF, Jebbia will continue to manage the business. The 13th store of the company opened on May 6, 2021, in Milan.

Skate teams

The original Supreme skate team consisted of Ryan Hickey, Justin Pierce, Gio Estevez, Paul Leung, Chris Keeffe, Jones Keeffe, Peter Bici, and Mike Hernandez. Other pro skaters, such as Harold Hunter and Jeff Pang, became associates of the company due to Supreme's roots within New York City's skate culture. The current skate team, as of 2021, includes Aidan Mackey, Brian Anderson, Ben Kadow, Jason Dill,

Sean Pablo Sean Pablo Murphy (born August 30, 1997), known as Sean Pablo, is a regular-footed American skateboarder, designer, model, musician, and photographer. Early life Born in Silver Lake, California to Brendan Murphy, a father of Irish descent, and ...

, Na-Kel Smith, Tyshawn Jones, Mark Gonzales, Kader Sylla, Sage Elsesser, Rowan Zorilla, Seven Strong, Troy Gipson, Vince Touzery, Caleb Barnett, Kevin Bradley, Nik Stain, Kevin Rodrigues and Beatrice Domond. Following the Paris store opening in 2016, Supreme also formed a French skate team that includes Dayanne Akadiri, Manuel Schenck, Lucien Momy, Dadoum Chabane, Damien Bulle, Victor Demonte, Valentin Jutant and Samir Krim.

Trademarks

Supreme has been granted trademarks in many countries within North America, Europe and Asia. In 2018, Supreme lost a lawsuit in an Italian court, and the European Union refused to register its trademark, so "Supreme" branded items not licensed, approved or manufactured by Supreme could be sold in Italy and Spain.

Samsung The Samsung Group (or simply Samsung) ( ko, 삼성 ) is a South Korean multinational manufacturing conglomerate headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul, South Korea. It comprises numerous affiliated businesses, most of them united under the ...

was able to sign a promotion agreement with a fake Supreme brand in China. Finally, in November 2019, an appellate court of the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) found that Supreme's brand is distinct and eligible for an EU trademark. "It has been widely demonstrated that the sign is used as a brand and in some cases seen as "‘cult’ in the field of streetwear," the court said. On August 27, 2020, EUIPO granted Supreme a Europe-wide trademark for bags, clothing and retail stores.

Awards

In 2018, Supreme was awarded the Council of Fashion Designers of America's Menswear Designer of the Year Award.

Marketing

Fashion photographer Terry Richardson has produced some of the brand's most notable photographs, including of

Michael Jordan Michael Jeffrey Jordan (born February 17, 1963), also known by his initials MJ, is an American businessman and former professional basketball player. His biography on the official NBA website states: "By acclamation, Michael Jordan is the g ...

Kermit the Frog Kermit the Frog is a Muppet character created and originally performed by Jim Henson. Introduced in 1955, Kermit serves as the everyman protagonist of numerous Muppet productions, most notably '' Sesame Street'' and '' The Muppet Show'', as ...

, Three 6 Mafia,

Lou Reed Lewis Allan Reed (March 2, 1942October 27, 2013) was an American musician, songwriter, and poet. He was the guitarist, singer, and principal songwriter for the rock band the Velvet Underground and had a solo career that spanned five decades. ...

Lady Gaga Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta ( ; born March 28, 1986), known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She is known for her image reinventions and musical versatility. Gaga began performing as a teenag ...

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, Nas, and Morrissey. William "Bill" Strobeck serves as Supreme's main filmer, and has created several web edits for the brand such as ''PUSSY GANGSTER'' (2016), ''CANDYLAND'' (2019) and ''STALLION'' (2021). Strobeck has also filmed and directed both of Supreme's full-length films - "c''herry"'' (2014) and ''"BLESSED"'' (2018).

Collaborators

Kenneth Cappello made some Supreme photo tees like

Mike Tyson Michael Gerard Tyson (born June 30, 1966) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1985 to 2005. Nicknamed "Iron Mike" and "Kid Dynamite" in his early career, and later known as "The Baddest Man on the Planet", Tyson is con ...

, Dipset, and

Raekwon Corey Woods (born January 12, 1970), better known by his stage name Raekwon The Chef, or simply Raekwon (), is an American rapper. He rose to prominence as a founding member of the hip-hop group Wu-Tang Clan, which achieved mainstream succe ...

. During the Fall/Winter 2017 season Supreme collaborated with fashion house

Louis Vuitton Louis Vuitton Malletier, commonly known as Louis Vuitton (, ), is a French high-end luxury fashion house and company founded in 1854 by Louis Vuitton. The label's LV monogram appears on most of its products, ranging from luxury bags and lea ...

for a Menswear Collection. It was ranked as the best collaboration of 2017 by ''Vogue''. Supreme's collaboration with

Takashi Murakami is a Japanese contemporary artist. He works in fine arts media (such as painting and sculpture) as well as commercial (such as fashion, merchandise, and animation) and is known for blurring the line between high and low arts as well as co ae ...

raised $1 million for

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified ...

relief. Other notable brands that Supreme had collaborated with includes

Kangol Kangol is a British clothing company famous for its headwear. The name Kangol reflects the original materials for production, the K coming from the word 'silK' (a recent attribution to 'Knitting' is incorrect), the ANG from 'ANGora', and the ...

Emilio Pucci Don Emilio Pucci, Marchese di Barsento (; 20 November 1914 – 29 November 1992) was an Italian aristocrat, fashion designer and politician. He and his eponymous company are synonymous with geometric prints in a kaleidoscope of colors. Earl ...

, AntiHero Skateboards, New Era,

True Religion True most commonly refers to truth, the state of being in congruence with fact or reality. True may also refer to: Places * True, West Virginia, an unincorporated community in the United States * True, Wisconsin, a town in the United States * ...

, A Bathing Ape, Nike,

Fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelv ...

, The North Face, Spitfire Wheels,

Champion A champion (from the late Latin ''campio'') is the victor in a challenge, contest or competition. There can be a territorial pyramid of championships, e.g. local, regional / provincial, state, national, continental and world championships, ...

, Stussy, Comme des Garçons,

Timberland Timberland may refer to: Places * Timberland, Lincolnshire, a village in Lincolnshire, England * Timberland, Wisconsin, an unincorporated community, US Other uses * Timberland, land used for forestry and timber production * Timberland (company) ...

Lacoste Lacoste S.A. is a French company, founded in 1933 by tennis player René Lacoste, and entrepreneur Mangkha. It sells clothing, footwear, sportswear, eyewear, leather goods, perfume, towels and watches. The company can be recognised by ...

Thrasher Magazine ''Thrasher'' is a skateboarding magazine founded in January 1981 by Eric Swenson and Fausto Vitello. The publication consists primarily of skateboard- and music-related articles, photography, interviews and skatepark reviews. The magazine al ...

, Independent Trucks and many others. Supreme collaborated with

Yohji Yamamoto is a Japanese fashion designer based in Tokyo and Paris. Considered a master tailor alongside those such as Madeleine Vionnet, he is known for his avant-garde tailoring featuring Japanese design aesthetics. Yamamoto has won notable awards fo ...

during late 2020, bringing in

Yamamoto Yamamoto (written: lit. "base of the mountain") is the 9th most common Japanese surname. Notable people with the surname include: *, Japanese politician *, Japanese World War II flying ace *, Japanese judoka *, Japanese manga artist and characte ...

’s avant-garde tailoring and aesthetics. Supreme and Yohji Yamamoto would later collaborate again in mid 2022, this time bringing in graphics and designs from the video game series

Tekken is a Japanese Media mix, media franchise centered on a series of fighting game, fighting video and arcade games developed and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment (formerly Namco). The franchise also includes film and print adaptations. The ...

Filmography

Below is a list of official skate videos made for Supreme. *''A Love Supreme'' (1995) *''"cherry"'' (2014) *''JOYRIDE'' (2014) *''the red devil.'' (2015) *''SICKNESS'' (2015) *''SWOOSH'' (2015) *''PUSSY GANGSTER'' (2016) *''KING PUPPY'' (2016) *''"BLESSED"'' (2018) *''CANDYLAND'' (2019) *''STALLION'' (2021) *''MIND GOBLIN'' (2021) *''"Play Dead"'' (2022)

References

External links

* {{Official website 1994 establishments in New York City American companies established in 1994 The Carlyle Group companies Clothing brands of the United States Clothing retailers of the United States Clothing companies based in New York City Shoe companies of the United States Clothing companies established in 1994 Retail companies established in 1994 Skateboarding companies 2020 mergers and acquisitions VF Corporation