Just browse the first volume which covers the period 1994-2011, to realize how an operation born without too many pretensions has become a successful and world-famous brand. The very first box logo tee has a fitted silhouette and a label that looks hand-sewn (because it probably was). The T-shirt Taxi Driver it is covered with the signatures of the first members of the crew Supremeas Harold Hunter And Keith Hufnagel. Since Jebbia was always cautious about accepting too many orders, the shirts were produced in small batches and, once they sold out, he replaced them with something new. As he told GQ in 2019, «It wasn’t a store full of basic items, where you could find the same product month after month. What we did had to be something stimulating.”
This constant need for innovation then translated into system that has redefined the drop clothing sectorand made sure that the graphic sensitivity of Supreme developed rapidly. As the years passed, the graphics became increasingly larger and more complex, while Jebbia relied on an ever-expanding group of designers. Furthermore, they strengthened Supreme’s maverick reputation. In the years before social media, the brand plundered the Coca Cola logo (1997), the Burberry check (1997), the Louis Vuitton monogram (2000) and even made a T-shirt that simply read FUCK NIKE (2001 ), which is said to have been given only to friends and family.
T-shirt with the box logo, 1994
Taxi Driver T-shirt, 1994
Even as the brand grew and evolved and the company hired lawyers who told it not to antagonize big corporations, the underlying spirit of the t-shirt Supreme has remained essentially the same. In the second volume (2012-2018) we are witnessing the real take-off of fashion collaborations, starting from a polka dot t-shirt created with Comme des Garçons Shirt in 2012, up to the t-shirts with the box logo created together with Louis Vuitton (2017) and Burberry (2022). In the third volume (2019-2024) there are a series of t-shirts commemorating the opening of new stores.
The t-shirts always maintain a provocative cut and a constant commitment to the world of art, music and cinema. Some of the early models feature works by Basquiat And Warhollater models include collaborations with famous artists such as Damien Hirstbut also with outsiders such as Daniel Johnston and graffiti artists of the caliber of Future. And finally official collaborations with the respective foundations of Basquiat and Warhol.
Part of the secret of the persistent sense of “cool” expressed by Supreme it depends on its ability to always reflect the interests of the somewhat intimidating group of people who work and skate for the brand. In the oeuvre of t-shirts you can find collaborations and tributes to people of the caliber of Lou Reed, Wu-Tang Clan, Bad Brains And Miles Davisas well as films by Harmony Korine, David Lynch And Abel Ferrera. The haunting quality of the t-shirts reflects Jebbia’s intimate participation in the design and approval process. “I care about the T-shirts we make as much as our more sophisticated pieces,” Jebbia told GQ.
