It’s like clockwork. Twice a year everything that’s going on in street culture comes to a screeching halt and all eyes turn to Supreme. When the iconic New York brand officially announces their Spring/Summer or Fall/Winter collection, the unveiling comes with a fresh new wave of possibilities and excitement, and the collection becomes the talk of the streets and the Internet for weeks on end. Each piece, collaboration, and accessory is carefully dissected by hoards of adoring fans, and the brand carries that momentum and hype right into their legendary Thursday morning releases.
And spring/summer ’18 is bound to be a very interesting season for Supreme. With the Carlyle Group buying a 50% stake and valuating the brand at a cool $1 billion overall, Supreme’s global name recognition is higher than ever. Supreme has always been a counter-culture staple known for being ahead of trends or creating trends outright, but a new question arrises: now that they’re the undisputed leader in their space, will they be able to maintain their rebellious aesthetic that made them so popular in the first place? We’ll have to see if head designer Max Vanderwoude Gross and his team are up to the task.
Earlier this week, Supreme unveiled the first images of their highly-anticipated Spring/Summer 2018 collection. Although all we know for certain at this moment is that the jacket and hoodie pictured at the top of this article will be releasing and that there’s two Nike collabs (an Air Force 1 Mid and a Spectrum), that won’t stop the rumor mill from speculatively churning like always.
We figured we’d get in on the fun. We’ve got a hunch that we know a few things Supreme will be dripping this coming season, so we listed them below and explained the rationale behind each prediction as well. Let’s go ahead and dive right into the hypothetical madness.
Homages to Classic NY Street Fashion
Supreme has always paid homage to classic New York street clothing in their collections, especially jackets and other outerwear. From Pelle Pelle’s Soda Club jackets (a clear inspiration for the studded jacket pictured at the top of this article) to Avirex leathers, from 8-balls to Nascar racing jackets, you can see the old-school NY hip-hop and street style inspiration in many of their designs. With 90’s fashion here to stay, you can bet that we’ll be seeing many more loud, bold, generously cut street-ready jackets from Supreme this season. If it looks like a jacket you could buy on Jamaica Avenue or Canal Street, then you’ll likely be seeing it this season.
A Long-Sleeve Box Logo Tee
In streetwear’s current environment where everything is powered by sheer hype, there’s no piece more valuable than one adorned with a Supreme box logo, no matter if it’s a tee, hoodie or crewneck. Every year, legions of streetwear nuts (mostly younger kids) fiend for a new box logo, making for one on the most important releases of the season. What will we be seeing this season? It’s usually tees in the spring and hoodies in the fall, so we’re thinking tee … but not a regular short sleeve tee. It’s time for a switch-up, and that switch-up will come in the form of a long-sleeve box logo tee, likely in bright, bold colors. You might want to go ahead and start camping right now if you want to have any chance at getting your hands on one.
A Bape Collaboration
With the hype surrounding both brands at an all-time high (and both brands having sold equity, thereby becoming more commercial), now’s the perfect time for Supreme and Bape, two titans of street culture to re-unite for the first time since 2001 when they released a series of camo box logo tees. If this collaboration does in fact occur, we’ll have a chance to witness stratospheric levels of hype the likes of which we’ve never seen before in street culture. As purists, we’ll go as far to say that we almost hope we’re wrong on this one … but we’ve got a hunch that we’re right on the money with this prediction. Long story short: If this collaboration goes down, it would be the streetwear equivalent of Jay-Z and Kanye West’s “Watch The Throne” tour.”
Loud Colors & All-Over Prints
Streetwear is currently in a maximalist state, full of colors, patterns, and big, bold, in-your-face designs. Supreme has always offered a wide swath of clothing from simple and understated to loud and boisterous, but if the teasers that have released so far are any indication of what to expect … we’ve got a feeling that this season will lean much more heavily towards the latter and not the former. Streetwear’s current maximalist market plays in Supreme’s favor, as creating clever graphic tees and hoodies that turn heads has always been one of their biggest strengths, and we already predicted that neon garments would be a big trend in 2018, so don’t be shocked if you see many a bright-colored, whimsical-patterned piece popping up in Supreme’s Spring/Summer 2018 collection.
New Stores
This prediction isn’t necessarily related to the clothing that we’ll see from Supreme this season, but it’s an interesting enough hypothesis that it still merits mentioning: with the fresh influx of capital from the Carlyle Group, we’ve got a gut feeling that we’ll be seeing at least two new stores by the end of the year. If Supreme wants to truly hit their billion-dollar valuation, they have to keep expanding at a slow, controlled pace, and since they don’t wholesale the only way they have to do that is by either increasing their stock or expanding their number of doors. Another location in Japan? L.A. store number two? Paris part two? China? A wealthy Middle Eastern country? Supreme could set up shop literally anywhere in the world and still have their product blow off shelves, so be sure to look out for more expansion this year.
A Cult-Favorite Japanese Designer Collaboration
Supreme doesn’t only collaborate with other cultural juggernauts and heavy-hitters: they’ve been known to work with cult-favorite brands that offer a unique aesthetic. Following last season’s collaborative effort with Hysteric Glamor, a Japanese brand founded in 1984 that draws its inspiration from both American and Japanese pop culture, you’ll likely be seeing a follow-up collab with another cult classic Japanese brand. Our guess? Wacko Maria. Founded in 2004 and known for their “Guilty Parties” slogan and premium craftsmanship, the pricy Japanese brand’s aesthetic, inspired by music, film, and art would lend itself well to Supreme’s rebellious designs.
A Rocker As The Subject Of This Season’s Photo Tee
The photo tee: another seasonal Supreme piece that generates box-logo level frenzy. From Kermit the Frog to Raekwon to Neil Young (pictured above) to Kate Moss, photo tees are the stuff of legend for collectors and graphic tee lovers alike. This season? Expect to see a legendary rocker (or possibly another legendary rocker) as the photo subject. Who? That’s up in the air, but we’ve got a hunch it’ll be someone who Supreme’s young fanbase isn’t terribly familiar with … and it’ll fly off shelves both physical and digital nonetheless.
A Collaboration With A Fresh OG Skate Brand
It wouldn’t be a Supreme season without an OG skate collaboration. Supreme has worked with a veritable who’s who of established, respected skate brands over their history, from Independent to AntiHero to Thrasher and Spitfire. A skate brand collaboration is a given at this point, but we think that Supreme will partner with a skate brand they haven’t yet worked with this season. As we feel we’ll be seeing a strong 90’s aesthetic from them this year, an Alien Workshop collaboration is not out of the realm of possibility. A core skate brand that’s fallen from the heights it enjoyed in the late 90’s-early 00’s but still boasts a sizable following, Alien Workshop would seem to be a perfect collaborator for Supreme. Plus, we’re still convinced last year’s crop field video was foreshadowing of some sort.
A Suit, Collaborative Or Otherwise
Although not an integral piece of their core collections, Supreme has been known to surprise and delight menswear aficionados around the world with a suit every few seasons … and we’ve got a feeling it’s about that time again. A traditional-style seersucker suit, made in collaboration with Brooks Brothers released in 2014, and last year’s Spring/Summer collection saw both clean black and wild, all-over printed suits in collaboration with Comme Des Garcons. Supreme design director Max Vanderwoude Gross dabbled in menswear while running his own label Proper Gang, so don’t be shocked if there’s a collaborative or simply in-line Supreme suit at some point during the season.
What do you think we’ll be seeing from Supreme this Spring/Summer season? Do you agree with our predictions, or are we way off base? If so, what do you think they’ll do differently? Sound off in the comments or hit us up and let us know on Twitter!
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