Supreme's Iconic Brand Collaborations
What makes a brand collab good? Are they still relevant?
In Today’s Newsletter
A Look at Supreme’s Best Collaborative Relationships
What Makes a Brand Collab Good?
Are Collabs Still Relevant?
Make no mistake— ten years ago I was a Supreme hypebeast.
In between classes on Thursdays I’d ferociously lock in, trying to buy anything and everything from the latest drop. Grailed was bookmarked, for selling what I didn’t want and trying to acquire what sold out.
Then again, what teenager coming of age in the mid-2010s didn’t want Supreme?
At the time, the prolific brand was worn by everyone a 16 year old in 2014 idolized: Earl Sweatshirt, Jason Dill, Lucien Clarke, and Tyler, the Creator.
Tyler perhaps played the biggest role in popularizing the brand for young Odd Future fans, religiously wearing the camp caps and box logo hoodies that would become the envy of young men trying to do kickflips in a cul-de-sac.
Yesterday, in a rare full circle moment and after launching his own massively successful line, collaborating with Louis Vuitton, and winning a couple Grammy’s, Supreme announced Tyler would finally get his very own Supreme collaboration (details pending)
Coming at a time where the brand has lost its hypebeast momentum (look at the obliterated resale market) and recently was sold for $1.5B, Supreme is charting a familiar path with this new collaboration.
Now 30 years old, Supreme basically brought the collab to the masses and redefined how clothing brands and designers work with one another. Over the years, their numerous ongoing collaborative relationships have created countless iconic products.
Let’s take a look at a few—
Commes Des Garcons Shirt
Since their first linkup in 2012, Supreme and CDG Shirt have brought a unique motif to each collaborative collection. From dots, flipped box logos, suiting, and more— this remains one of their most innovative, unexpected partnerships.
The North Face
Foreshadowing Supreme’s eventual owner, VF Corp, their ongoing partnership with The North Face has given Supreme’s designers a highly technical, functional canvas to reimagine. Combining their design aesthetic with TNF’s high-performance gear was a recipe for success.
Photo Tees
Supreme’s keen sense of pop culture has led them to feature numerous iconic celebrities on tees. A few of the best are Kate Moss, Kermit, and Morrissey.
Nike
I’d be remised not to mention their partnership with Nike, which has spanned 20+ years (after they made a ‘Fuck Nike’ tee in the late 90s) and across numerous models from basketball, running, and lifestyle shoes.
What Makes a Good Collaboration?
Supreme and its illustrious partnerships set the standard for brand collaborations and after each drop kept selling out, the entire fashion industry seemed to follow suit.
While luxury brands like Louis Vuitton and Tiffany would go on to collab directly with Supreme, others like Gucci and Dior just copied the playbook.
And these collabs, despite their mixed quality, did often sell out. But the inundation of every brand in the world collaborating for the sake of collaborating has led to significant consumer fatigue.
So in 2024, and after the entire fashion industry seemingly ran this model into the ground— what makes a good collaboration?
Ultimately I think a collaboration needs to do the following—
Create something impossible: If these two brands didn’t come together, this product would be impossible. The goal is to come together and bring something new to market that otherwise would not be available. This helps build hype and let’s consumers know this isn’t just a pointless cash grab. Like most good things, you know it when you see it.
Values and respects each brand’s consumers: This collab should feel serious, and not make a mockery of your core customer base.
Complement each other’s specialties: As Supreme often demonstrates, they have a unique creative vision, and their partners bring a storied product (Levi’s, TNF, Nike) as a canvas for them to design. They complement each other.
Feels relevant.
Identifies overlap in a brand’s fanbase: I see so many instances of collabs these days and think to myself that each brand’s audiences are mutually exclusive. A good collaboration should appeal to fan bases that have some overlap. Kith often does the most meaningless collabs, because they pick general products. For example, Kith and Coca Cola, yes if you wear Kith you probably have had a Coke, but who is a passionate fan of both? Its a waste.
What are some of your favorite collabs of all time?
What makes a good collab to you?
What brands do you want to see collab?
Jake Bell is a content marketing, creative strategist, designer, and writer based in NYC. He specializes in brand building, content strategy, creative direction, business development, and making things cool.
Want to chat? Email me: jake@jb.studio
Fire post today! What Makes a Brand Collab Good Diagram, super clean, and concise.
Superb writing!