Supreme's History and Meteoric Rise to $2 Billion

Welcome back, readers. If you were active in the streetwear scene for the past 10 years or so, you’ve definitely seen or heard of this brand. This brand is famous for its simple but instantly recognizable logo. This brand started off as a small SoHo-based skate shop and became one of the world's most well-known streetwear brands.

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Enough talking though; let’s get right into the history of Supreme.

Chapter I: Entering the Market

Our story begins 11 years before Supreme would be founded. James Jebbia moved to New York City in 1983. He was a 19-year-old who was raised in a small southern town in West Sussex, UK. After settling in Staten Island, Jebbia got a job at a minimalist skate shop & clothing store called Parachute.

In 1989, he left Parachute and gained the position as manager for the clothing store, Union (aka Union LA). During this time, Jebbia also helped Stüssy run its NYC outpost for several years. These years were crucial for Jebbia to develop the industry knowledge he would use when he would launch Supreme 5 years later.

Chapter II: Launching Supreme

Now fast forward to 1994, & James Jebbia is armed with years of experience in the streetwear medium. His time managing Union & his role in helping Stüssy gave him the knowledge needed to launch his own brand.

In April 1994, Supreme NYC was born. It opened its first store on Lafayette Street. Back then, Lafayette was a relatively quiet street that housed antique stores, a firehouse, a machinist, and The Pop Shop.

The Pop Shop was notable because it was owned by Keith Haring. Haring was a famous American street artist known for his art that could be spotted in New York City subways. This shop was a hub for people interested in the art scene, which was key for what Jebbia aimed to recreate.

Jebbia originally sold T-shirts, skate decks, and sneakers. To stay true to the image of the brand, Jebbia hired young skaters who lived in the neighborhood. Fun fact: the very first staff employed at Supreme were extras from the film Kids.

This allowed the brand to achieve success in the local scene & build a reputation within the skating community.

Chapter III: A Monumental Collaboration

Supreme began to grow more and more throughout the years. Their clientele consisted of skateboarders, fashion enthusiasts, and local artists alike. Because of Jebbia’s close ties to the art and streetwear world, Supreme began collaborating with others in the art scene. Supreme created collabs with artists like Rammelizee and Dondi White as well as other artists in the scene. As years went by, the brand would continue to collaborate with artists—household names like Nate Lowman and Roy Lichtenstein were among those who Supreme collaborated with.

In 2002, however, Supreme would do something that would set the course of its growth forever. They collaborated with Nike SB. Back then, sneaker collaborations weren’t as common as today. In fact, they were rare to see. This caused the collab to be viewed as a huge event within the streetwear scene. Notably, when these shoes were released, Supreme simply sold these shoes inside their store on Lafayette Street.

This simple move caused word of mouth to spread about the Supreme store as well as the collab with Nike SB. As a result, all 1250 pairs were sold out. In addition to this, it started one of Supreme’s most important and iconic partnerships in the industry.

Chapter IV: World Expansion

Supreme would continue to see rapid growth throughout its first 10 years. 4 years before Supreme’s collaboration with Nike SB, Supreme opened stores in Japan. Places include Daikanyama, Osaka, and Fukuoka. In 2004, Supreme would open its now-iconic store in Los Angeles, California. Years later, Supreme would open 2 more stores in Japan before opening a London store in 2011. Supreme would also release limited T-shirts sold only at these openings. This boosted the attention the brand would get and increased its popularity throughout the 2010s.

Another factor in this was how celebrities began to adopt the brand. Examples include Dipset, Shane MacGowan, Justin Bieber, Raekwon, Kate Moss, and Neil Young. This made the brand very desirable because of the endorsement from celebrity culture.

On top of that, Supreme collaborated with other brands during this time. The North Face, Dr. Martens, and COMME DE GARÇONS teamed up with Supreme—boosting the popularity of the brand even more.

Supreme utilized genius marketing during this period. Despite their huge demand, Supreme always kept their quantity limited. This created a scarcity effect, which caused customers to quickly buy any of Supreme’s items. Many brands today use this technique with their products, but none have pulled this off as well as Supreme.

Chapter V: Entering High Fashion

In the late 2010s, Supreme’s popularity reached an all-time high. With the hypebeast subculture in full effect, you couldn’t walk down the street without seeing someone rocking the brand. However, Supreme’s next move would shock the whole world when it was announced.

In 2017, it was announced that an entire Supreme x Louis Vuitton collection would be released as part of the SS17 runway show. This moment was monumental for the brand because it pushed Supreme from a well-known streetwear brand & put them in the world of high fashion.

Since then, Supreme has continued to collaborate with high fashion brands. Examples include Burberry, Jean Paul Gaultier & MM6 Maison Margiela.

In 2020, Supreme was purchased by VF Corporation for $2 billion. VF Corporation is a huge fashion conglomerate that owns brands like The North Face, Timberland, and Dickies. Supreme was a subsidiary of the Corporation until 2024. That same year, VF Corporation sold Supreme to EssilorLuxottica for $1.5 billion.

Most recently, Supreme announced a collaboration with British musician and DJ Aphex Twin. It has since been released on March 6th.

Key Takeaways:

Supreme has had an impressive 31-year journey. They went from a small SoHo store that employed local skaters to a $2 billion clothing brand. Their success can be attributed to these 4 key things Supreme made sure to do:

1) Learn about your market. 11 years before Supreme was even established, Jebbia immersed himself in the streetwear and skating subculture. This allowed him to learn how things worked and what his ideal customers would like.

2) Cultivate a strong brand image. When Supreme was launched, Jebbia wanted to ensure that it stayed true to what it originally was—a skate shop. To make sure this was the case, he hired people that were in tune with the skating subculture. This allowed Supreme to cultivate the identity that is sought early on.

3) Network and collaborate. Thanks to Jebbia learning about his market, he became connected to artists in the art scene. This allowed him to begin collaborating with these artists. Collaborations would soon become important to Supreme’s rise in the streetwear scene.

4) Innovate through marketing. A hugely understated factor in Supreme’s brand image was its scarcity. By deliberately producing fewer products than the market demanded, it allowed Supreme’s value to increase. It also caused people to buy the products out of fear it would be sold out immediately. Original and innovative marketing boosted Supreme’s popularity.

Final words:

Clothing brands and creatives alike can learn from Supreme’s rise in streetwear. Branding is important, and Supreme perfected its image through years of hard work.

Thanks for reading. Until next time, stay true, stay laive.

Source: CrepsLocker | Vogue | NYTimes | Supreme | StockX | Fortune | Aphex Twin