Supremes famous red logo is quintessential hypebeast paraphernalia. Very few millennials will have grown up without having seen this now ubiquitous symbol of exclusivity; even if exclusivity is now a redundant descriptive. Famous for their seemingly ridiculous collaborations, supreme have worked with prestigious fashion houses from Louis Vuitton, Burberry and Stone Island to household staples like Oreo, skittles and Colgate. Today we explore the brands little known history as a skate store and specifically their relationship with Nike SB.
Supreme x Nike is arguably the most anticipated drop in the Sneakerhead Almanac, for the last 2 decades supreme has worked closely with the brand on not just footwear but Apparel like tees, hoodies and coats. From breaking the mould with their Nike SB dunks in ’03 to faux-vintage clothing in SS21 to coming full circle with a literal rerelease like the supreme x Nike blazer in ‘22 the collaboration has a long history with many twists and a personality all of its own. To focus on Nike in its entirety would take far too long and we know your most interested in the good stuff…
This story all starts when Nike SB was still a fledgling brand building its identity, hard to believe they’d strike gold first time by collaborating with skate brand supreme. The initial offering, the “Black Cement Dunk low” and “White Cement Dunk Low” took inspiration from the Jordan 3 many at the time enjoyed skating. Retailing for $65 the True Blue and Black cement inspired shoes proved that hyped collaborations with skatestores motivated a huge amount of collectors and with nearly all early dunks being sold at the supreme store in New York it was no surprise many queued for the first Nike SB collab. These set the precedent for Nike SB collaborations and made sure Supremes name would always come up when discussing this silhouette.
After striking gold came another pair in quick succession came another “grail” collection from this growing powerhouse the Nike SB Dunk High Supreme (Red/Blue/Orange) Stars. Taking inspiration from the BTTYS pack from 1985 the Dunk High featured crocodile print panels with a gold star quarter panel. Early samples show this sneaker to be a Low dunk with the gold stars being Nike Logos but due to legal reasons this design was quickly squashed and now exists in a few crevices of someone’s vast sneaker museum. This sneaker released in the glory days of camp outs (Pre Vs Post raffle culture – @pairsbypaul) with all three pairs releasing sequentially and the staff refusing to sell to people who copped on previous days. A true testament to the brands wish to keep these in the hands of passionate fans. It’s rumoured this release is limited to 1000 pairs as this luxury shoe created its own hysteria which to this day is polarising to actual sneakerheads. Itcould be pointed this is one of the early examples of how Supreme went from skatestore to luxury boutique.
Supreme x Nike SB somewhat fades from here as nothing happens, both brands focused on separate frontiers and although Supreme collaborated with Nike they didn’t touch their Skateboard bredrin for another 9 years. Roll on the 10th anniversary of the original release Nike Sb bounces back with a contemporary retro of the Black Cement, now superseded by the Red Cement Dunk Low. Paying homage to the original dunk the louder red mid panel was a massive hit with collectors and by good fortune reminiscent of the Red Octobers that had recently created a flurry of excitement, and disappointment. Although not the success they’ve had today the 2012 release was carried on the shoulders of the Supreme surge of the 2010’s. Nearly all artists adorned the then obscure red block and took this unique section of skate culture to the mainstream. Even though dunks didn’t gain momentum from this wave it certainly cemented ( see what I did there) the shoe into the history books and would lead to their success later down the line.
By 2019 everyone was wearing supreme, 20 years of releases had resulted in a cult following. From Travis Scott, Justin beiber and Offset there was no way to escape the frenzy and the Nike SB dunk had recently come into the limelight with people searching for rare and obscure pairs lost to history. You would think this would be a recipe for success… but it seems not. The next pair in the Nike sb line was the Jewel swoosh dunk pack and these are a complete failure… 3 colourways released (Blue/Gold, white/red and Black/Silver) all with a metallic toe box and adorned with a jewel swoosh. This latest iteration of the Nike SB x Supreme line felt completely alien and the fans let them know. Teased in a video by Johnny Wilson the brand played it off as a sneaker to juxtapose the cargos and grit of skating… a little miss timed and falling on deaf ears I’m sure supreme would rather just forget about this trio. This would go down as Supremes least popular release and can still be found on the internet for the price paid 3 years ago.
Take 2! Quickly after the release of their last SB dunk came arguably the best possible bounce back with the Black/Green/Blue/ Brown Star pack. Confusingly these colours don’t seem to match the thoughts of Supremes previous release because as far as im aware they are completely random. Despite this shortcoming the pack was an honourable rendition of this now “grail” status shoe and with similair premium materials did not disappoint. 2021 was during the covid lockdowns so unlike before there was little promotion behind this pair and it didn’t even release with the usual skate video. Some argued this is a nail in the coffin for “SB” as fashion dominance bastardises the prestige it once held.
The final SB Dunk high in the long history of Supreme is the Nike SB Supreme High By Any Means Necessary. Alluding to the famous 2015 North Face jacket this phrase has become a catch phrase of the brand playing on the cult like behaviour of the customers to cop the latest drop each season. With Small phrases like “No <3” on the lateral forefoot and SUP on the tongue this shoe has many distinct details that are nods to Supremes New York heritage. By far the most obvious is the NY Nike logo that seems almost forced between the A and M in words on the heel “By Any Means Necessary”. Coming in Stormtrooper, Brazil and Red/ Navy these shoes are inspired by classic Nike colourways that released in the early 2000s that dominated the early days of the streetwear scene. A unique twist and a fitting end to this saga.
Since the original 2002 collaboration Supreme has become synonymous with the Nike SB Dunk, arguably its greatest claim to relevance. The Dunk was designed for utility yet now has transcended any sort of value in its original function. Sneakers hold a story that many will never truly appreciate and despite the SB dunk being 17 years younger than its Nike Brand predecessor its superseded its relevance to those in the know. Supreme no longer has much relevance to skateboarding as painful as that is for people to admit. Most sneakerheads are unable to tap into a previous life of experimentation and pushing new found boundaries within the skateboard scene its important we learn of where these brands came from, their relevance and what to expect going forward. Im sure this wont be the last time we see something magic from these two powerhouses.
