Kevin Torres-Jurado, Culture Editor |
Arguably one of the most influential streetwear brands to ever hit the market, Supreme makes headlines every year for a myriad of reasons. From the collaborations they have with other clothing brands and celebrities, to the skate videos they release once in a blue moon, Supreme has dominated the streetwear scene time and time again.
Founded by James Jebbia in 1994, the New York City clothing brand focused solely on the underground skate scene, creating clothes and skateboard accessories/decks for youth. As the brand grew, the Punk and Hip-Hop music scenes became another staple in terms of the demographic the clothing was made for. The brand grew immensely during the early 2000’s, collaborating with Punk legends such as the Bad Brains, and Hip-Hop artists Juelz Santana from Dipset and Raekwon from the Wu-Tang clan respectively.
In current days, Supreme is a staple in what it means to be a streetwear brand and culture lord. Each collection they have for the new season is released in small quantities over a couple of weeks. There’s a new launch every Thursday at 11:00 a.m. Eastern Standard Time. The brand releases such a limited amount that the re-selling of it’s clothing is essentially the only way you can purchase a piece if you’re new to the game.
However, re-selling is a risky business to get into as scammers and thieves exist in these realms, always trying to fool fresh meat. Also, because of it’s limited supply, re-sellers tend to increase the price of the clothing/pieces by two or even three times the amount it was originally sold for, depending on the year it was released. So for example, a shirt released in 2010 might have been $30 that year, but by now it might be worth $100-$300.
Although Supreme is all for the underground scene, it has always been a main influence and promoter of all things Pop-Culture. They have collaborated with high end artists such as Jeff Koons and Takashi Murakami, and they’ve also worked with movies such as “KIDS” and celebrities such as boxer Mike Tyson and supermodel Kate Moss. Sometimes, Supreme is the reason why some kids even know half of these names.
Depending on the pieces that drop, lines of eager fanatics vary. For example, when Supreme collaborates with The North Face, the line might as well have reached three whole New York City blocks. However, if it’s something that most youngsters aren’t familiar with like Black Sabbath, lines might be just one block.
As the years progress, it seems that Supreme has started to accept the role they have in the streetwear scene. They’re so comfortable being the leader that they had no problem unveiling their recent collaboration with high-end fashion brand Louis Vuitton. Amongst high criticism, it seems that this collab is the first of many bridges to connect what some would say is “low-culture” and “high-culture”
Supreme. The reason as to why so many people like myself have gone broke. The company that put clothes on our back. The king of streetwear.
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