The world of high fashion is beginning to recognize streetwear as a force to be reckoned with. Brands such as BAPE, Off-White and Supreme are routinely worn by magnates from the entertainment realm, including a bevy of hip-hop luminaries.
In a span of 24 years, Supreme has amassed a devout cult following who routinely snatch their latest offerings while they're still available. As a result, French auction house Artcurial will be recognizing the label's transnational relevance by putting on an auction featuring a vast selection of archival pieces. The event will be titled "C.R.E.A.M." which is taken from the Wu Tang Clan's 1994 hit of the same name, and effectively coincides with the year Supreme was founded.
The auction will focus on collectible and rare pieces from the brand's archives. Fabien Naudan, the vice chairman of Artcurial, ventured around the globe to snap these high-coveted bits of Supreme's history, a process that took nearly two years to complete. "The idea of the auction is to paint a landscape of three decades starting in the late 1980s: The first decade was when street artists, skateboarders and DJ’s were experimenting [with art] without the idea of doing it for money, the next decade was when it became a business, and the third one was the final step when it turned into a cash-out decade."
Included in the arsenal of goods are rare Supreme box-logo t-shirts that come replete with an starting price of $1,800, five Damien Hirst skateboard decks reserved for $9,500, as well a Louis Vuitton x Supreme Malle Courrier 90 trunk that will go to auction for $84,000.
According to Naudan, the auction was manifested in order to educate buyers about the brand and it's increasing significance. "Companies like Supreme have changed society a little bit. Its products are social markers. Today everyone knows what a box logo is," he notes.
