In the early 1990s, Supreme was founded in New York City. It is an American skateboarding shop and clothing brand. The brand is known for its contribution to the skateboarding industry and hip hop cultures as well as to youth culture in general. The brand manufactures skateboards and also produces clothes and accessories. Its clothing, shoes, and accessories are sold extensively in the secondary market.
Supreme’s distinctive red box logo with “Supreme” in white Futura Heavy Oblique is largely based on Barbara Kruger’s propaganda art. Supreme releases their new products through their retail locations around the world as well as their website on Thursday mornings in Europe and America, and on Saturday mornings in Japan.
Inception
The founder of the brand is James Jebbia. He was born on 22 July 1963 in the United States but lived in England until he was 19 years old. Jebbia was the manager of Stussy (also a clothing brand) in New York in the early 1990s. In April 1994, the Supreme store opened its first store in an old office space on Lafayette Street in downtown Manhattan.
The store was designed to keep skaters in mind with a unique design for the store layout: they started arranging the clothes around the perimeter of the store, a large central space that permitted skaters with backpacks to skate into the store and still feel comfortable. In 1994 this store had its core group of skaters who served on its team, which included late actors Justin Pierce and Harold Hunter, and its first employees were extras from the Larry Clark film Kids.
Supreme has a vast history of collaborations with various skateboarding and fashion brands. Popular brands that frequently collaborated with Supreme included Nike/Air Jordan, Lacoste, Vans, The North Face, Clarks, Hanes, Rimowa, Levi’s, Timberland, Playboy, Coleman, Comme des Garçons, Stone Island, and Champion.
The brand’s most notable photographs were taken by fashion photographer Terry Richardson, who included the names Kermit the Frog, Michael Jordan, Three 6 Mafia, Lou Reed, Neil Young, Lady Gaga, Nas, and Morrissey and Gucci Mane. Some of Supreme’s most notable photo tees, like Mike Tyson, Dipset, Michael Jackson, and Raekwon, were produced by Kenneth Cappello.
Evolution
A second location opened on North Fairfax Ave. in Los Angeles, California, in 2004, which was nearly double the size of the original New York City store and features an indoor skate bowl. The brand also has stores in other locations including, London Openings in September 2011, Paris Openings in March 2016, Tokyo Harajuku, Daikanyama, Shibuya, Fukuoka, Nagoya, and Osaka. As more store locations emulate the original Lafayette Street store’s design, stores feature rotating art displays and use videos and music to attract attention.
The brand has its own clothing label as well as of other skateboard brands such as Nike SB, Spitfire, Vans, Thrasher, and Girl Distribution Company, among others. James Jebbia was quoted as saying that anything that Supreme releases will never be classified as “limited,” but it should be noted that they make short runs of their products since they don’t want to get stuck with stuff nobody wants.
Supreme opened its 11th store and second in New York City in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn on 5th October 2017. Jebbia confirmed that the label had sold a significant stake in the company of roughly 50% (around $500 million) to private equity firm The Carlyle Group on 6th October 2017.
Supreme moved its original Manhattan location from 274 Lafayette Street to 190 Bowery on February 25, 2019. On October 24, 2019, Supreme opened its 12th store, on Market Street in San Francisco. Supreme lost a lawsuit in an Italian court. As a result of which Supreme was not able to register its trademark in Europe, “Supreme” items not manufactured by Supreme can readily be sold in Italy, and Spain, and then Samsung signed a promotion agreement with a European “Supreme” (not Supreme).
Awards & Achievements
Supreme was awarded the Council of Fashion Designers of America’s Menswear Designer of the Year Award in 2018. Supreme has worked with many celebrities who have worn supreme clothing in pubic such as Justin Bieber, Odd Future, Odell Beckham Jr., and Bad Bunny.
Net Worth of Supreme in 2024
Supreme sold its significant stake of $500 million (roughly 50% stake) to The Carlyle Group in 2017. From which it can be estimated that Supreme net worth should be $1 billion as of December 2024. Tho, it should be noted that Supreme is a private company and does not report revenue, but in 2017 the company was projected to hit $100 million in annual revenue. Women’s Wear Daily reported at the time that Supreme declined interview requests for this article.
Supreme is a very popular company among youths, and it has grown its business over the years. Supreme became so popular that people were ready to stay in line for a long time, but the only thing they wanted was to get the Supreme product somehow. One reason for the brand’s so much popularity is because it only produces products in a limited quantity, and also peoples have seen celebrities wearing Supreme clothing in public.