Ye Olde Supreme Grails

With Supreme’s new season dropping today and thousands of teenagers clambering for gaudy reinterpretations of traditionally subdued garments and crashing a website in pursuit of lipstick, we felt it appropriate to discuss some of our past favorites from the streetwear behemoth.

Jack

The Kids Will Have Their Say
Spring/Summer 2008

I love hardcore, I adore when Supreme uses it as reference, Youth of Today for instance. The Kids Will Have Their Say is an absolute banger of ‘80s Youth Crew by SS Decontrol. If anyone has a size small in black hit my line.

Flight Pants
Fall/Winter 2017

In high school, I was becoming jaded with Supreme. Largely because my taste at the time was skewed toward minimalism, less out of a genuine love for the style so much as wearing a grey t-shirt and black jeans every day was financially the most accessible option. Enter this outfit. Supreme in a neutral tone, with a grey sweatshirt and GATs? Awestruck. It helps that the pants are also incredible.

x White Castle x Vans Authentic
Spring/Summer 2015

When I turned 17 I bought myself a pair of Uncaged Ultra Boosts. I quickly realized the aggressive amounts of bouncy cushioning hurt my feet and the shoes didn’t go especially well with my daily style of black jeans. Eventually, I took them to Round Two (RIP) and exchanged them for a pair of these Vans. The first day I wore them, I was hit by a car. In the hospital, all my clothes were shorn off and left as scraps. The only thing that survived was these shoes, with little more than a slight smudging on one of the White Castle logos. I haven’t worn the shoes much since — the leather insole still has that new shoe smell, but I would never sell them. There’s something that is just so cool about the shoe and something very cool about the fun I had in them.

Bart

x Visvim Tradesman Jacket
Fall/Winter 2008

Before Visvim started shipping its production off to the third world, before Supreme sold itself to a collection of war criminals, They made one of the best jackets of all time. This understated piece could survive the soon coming not-unlikely nuclear holocaust.

x Budweiser Bucket Hat
Spring/Summer 2009

Supreme is at its best when its tongue in cheek, maximalist and absurd. This bucket can take you from the socially distanced park gathering to the super spreader house party.

x Everlast Boxing Gloves
Fall/Winter 2008

Worn by tiny heads of state and fuck boys alike, these gloves are no featherweight production. Just imagine slapping these bad boys on and beating the shit of every single person at a Thursday line up. You want them now don’t you?

Dylan

“Maxwell” Tee
2002 Fuck if We Know Which Season

This tee is based on the “Chair Man” ad by Japanese electronics manufacturer Maxell. The ad itself has been parodied several times in popular culture. Supreme ripped Maxell’s font, while also adding their own subtle details (note the Nike sneakers and the Heineken label).

Only the Strong/Boar’s Head
Fall/Winter 2008

2008 seems like a good year, huh? This tee is a rip of the successful (and in my opinion, best) deli meat brand, Boar’s Head. As someone who grew up going to Publix, Boar’s Head holds a sacred place in my heart, which is why you know I had to list this tee.

“Uptown” Hoodie
Fall/Winter 2011

This hoodie features the logo of the New Yorker, Eustace Tilley, with Supreme emblazoned beneath in the publication’s font. No publication better encapsulates the brand identity of Supreme than the most pretentious of all the New York publications. They also sold an accompanying corduroy hat that was made in collaboration with the brand Starter. This was one of the first things I ever bought on Grailed and I hold it dear to this day.

x The North Face Denali
Fall/Winter 2008

I know that Patagonia is the superior company, but these jackets are incredible. All three colorways are timeless and the branding, at least by Supreme standards, is minimal. My personal grail is this in the green and pink (Barney) colorway.

x The North Face Summit Series
Fall/Winter 2008

Sure the globe jacket is great, but nothing really does it to ‘em like these jackets do. I’ve only seen the one on the left in person once and I doubt I’ll see one again. There was a listing for the night jacket that had damages to it and it still sold on Grailed for over $2000.

Tim

Jr Smith’s Tattoo
Spring/Summer 2018

NBA Champion JR Smith has an important and storied NBA career full of memorable moments. 2018 was likely his best year. In March 2018 Jr Smith was suspended for throwing chicken tortilla soup at his coach. He followed that up in the finals with one of the great moments in finals history. That following offseason JR Smith appeared in the photos for the Supreme x NBA collaboration. To celebrate the momentous occasion JR got a tattoo of the Supreme logo on his calf. He was not paid for the tattoo. This was an act of love. 

After JR Smith revealed the tat, the losers at the NBA told him he has to cover up the tattoo. This led to a period of relative darkness for the tattoo as he played with it covered up. However the tattoo still remains, coming out from time to time like a comet. The tattoo remains loyal to a brand built on rarity and scarcity.

JR Smith famously has more tattoos than he can remember. However this tattoo is special. I'm sure there are a lot of dorks with Supreme logos on their body, but only one of them is a JR Smith tattoo. His tattoo is the perfect embodiment of a player whose career is defined by the mantra, “shooters shoot.” You do it for the love of the game. Some people do not like JR or think the tattoo is stupid, but they are wrong. haters hate, players play, and shooters shoot. 

Troy

Honda CRF 250R
Fall/Winter 2019

“If the supreme dirtbike doesn’t make the list I will simply unfollow JTTB” - Troy

Well fuck you Troy, this is for you.

“I will also accept the drum kit”

No.