Is Supreme back?

Let’s set the scene. It’s 2017. Our playlists are full of new releases from Kendrick Lamar, SZA, Lorde, Paramore, and Tyler, the Creator – just to name a few. Off-White industrial belts have society in a chokehold and logomania is on the rise. However, no one could anticipate the final nail in the coffin for extreme “hypebeast” hysteria – the Louis Vuitton/Supreme collaboration. Dropping on July 30^th 2017, the (now tacky) collaboration was stocked in pop-up stores around the globe whilst the fashion world lost their minds.

At the time, it was a truly remarkable feat – a skate wear brand with the power to tap into the luxury division of fashion, generating noise that was unprecedented in streetwear. Not to be mistaken, the brand had a history of notable collaborations, with everything from George Condo skateboards (2010) to Adam Kimmel luxury suits (2011/12).

The LV collection, initially unveiled at Paris Fashion Week Men’s in the January of the year, comprised of logo emblazed parkas, baseball shirts, hoodies, belts, a storage trunk – to be brief (there was even a swiss army knife for the more dedicated hypebeasts). Though the excessive logo print may seem tacky today due to rip-offs and fakes filtering through over the years, the collaboration was a great achievement, not only for Supreme, but for Louis Vuitton. 

Virgil Abloh had not yet been appointed by LVMH, and Kim Jones’ fashion direction was not always in tune with a younger audience. Jones’, whilst successful in his role, encouraged a completely new demographic to tap into Louis Vuitton. The idea for a collaboration is nothing short of a stroke of genius, with Louis Vuitton once hitting Supreme with a cease and desist for a print the skate wear brand had used back in 2000. Truly a full circle moment for both brands as the pieces will remain a milestone in fashion history. 

Context over, the dilution of this collaboration found itself in market stalls across the world, encouraging fakes and rip offs to be produced by the masses to appeal to those wanting in on the hype. Like most Supreme notable pieces, box logos in particular, fakes led to the brand losing traction inside the streetwear world. Though there have been standout collaborations in recent years such as the Scarface and The North Face collections, there has been a lack of buzz around the brand consistently. 

But the New York brand seem to be making braver moves in their creative direction. Fall Winter 2021 saw one of my favourite pieces unveiled, the Nas and DMX Gore-Tex shell jacket. Last year, we also saw smash collaborations with True Religion, Missoni, Tiffany, and even Shrek! Latest pieces feature, previous collaborator, Vanson mesh racer jackets, B.B Simon studded puffers, and even featuring Daidō Moriyama photography on trucker jackets. 

Away from collaborations and features, Supreme seem to be making their own unique prints once again. They have never been shy of making noise with unusual, original pieces, *cough* ball sack keychain. Bold and experimental prints are returning, whilst still stocking the more basic items they have included throughout their years. 

It is their recent collaboration, however, that spurred me to write this article – Burberry/Supreme. Rumours murmured around the collaboration until A$AP Nast revealed a full fit adorned with the Burberry nova check, ascending streetwear fanatics into madness. The collection will release March 10^th, and will feature trench coats, puffers, nova check jeans, hoodies, hats, and many more sought-after items.

Image credits: @asapnast on Instagram

Though we watch in admiration of this recent pairing of Supreme and Burberry, it is reminiscent of the logomania that we experienced back in 2017, albeit more tasteful. Supreme continue to implement surprising notes of art and luxury in ways we can never expect. It is admirable to see how Supreme are resurging their brand in a way that maintains their skate/street identity but continues to keep us eagerly guessing what they are going to do next.