Supreme is a clothing brand, skateboarding shop, and accessory line created by James Jebba in 1994. In the last decade, they have exploded as one of the largest and most influential cultural icons of the 21st century. Their trademark is the red box logo, which features the word Supreme in white Futura typeface. Many have stated that this is an homage or is influenced by Barbara Kruger’s famous propaganda art of the late 20th/early 21st century. To call Supreme a skateboarding company is to do it a disservice. It has become a harbinger of the cool and new and is one of the largest forces in urban art today.

Supreme’s photography department is spearheaded by noted fashion photographer, Terry Richardson. His depiction of the brand has often featured seemingly disparate spokesmodels like Michael Jordan, Kermit the Frog, and Lady Gaga. This obsession with celebrity has led many notable celebs to wear or endorse their brand including Kate Moss and David Blaine. In 2018, Supreme was awarded the Council of Fashion Designers of America’s Menswear Designer of the Year Award.

What kind of art does Supreme make?

Supreme is in the fashion business, and as such much of their work centers around men’s luxury fashion, collaborations with other notable designers, skateboards, and other outlets of pop culture. Supreme has also released several videos on their website to promote their brand. Many of these videos are extremely stylized. Perhaps the most famous is their first video A Love Supreme (1995) which featured John Coltrane Music and showed skateboarders in black and white against gritty images of New York City. This is indicative of much of Supreme’s work across mediums, heavily stylized, urban, and sleek. In 2014, they released the skate film Cherry which was hailed as an artistic masterpiece by many in the skateboarding community.

How did Supreme get started?

Supreme was founded in 1994 by James Jebbia, at the time a manager for the clothing brand Stussy. The first Supreme store opened in downtown Manhattan in April of 1994. Initially just marketed to skaters, they featured a unique store layout which allowed skaters to skate inside the store and still feel comfortable. This outside the box thinking led to a strong underground following in the skate and urban art community. In 2004, they opened a second store in Los Angeles. Their popularity exploded after collaborations with several notable fashion designers, and renewed demand required them to open a series of stores over the next decade including franchises in Paris, London, Tokyo, and a second store in Brooklyn.