When James Jebbia opened the first Supreme store in Manhattan, he wanted to commemorate the opening of the store by selling three t-shirts that were original to the brand.
One shirt featuring the rather simplistic Supreme logo that Jebbia’s friend had designed for him when he opened the store.
It wasn’t long, though, before the t-shirt that featured the Supreme logo began to outsell all other products in the store, and Jebbia realized that he was on to something special with this logo. Jebbia then began to design a wide range of other clothing products that featured the Supreme logo in a variety of colors. Before long, the Supreme logo had become a status symbol in the street culture of New York City, and the groundwork that would pave the way for the logo to become internationally popular in skating, hip hop, and rock circles across the world had been laid.
However, there was a degree of controversy about the logo’s design. After Jebbia’s friend designed the original Supreme logo, Jebbia felt as if the logo looked a little flat. In order to add more depth to its design, Jebbia lent his friend a book by New York conceptual artist Barbara Kruger for inspiration. In the end, the Supreme logo came out looking very similar to Kruger’s signature style of artwork, which featured bold white letters surrounded by the red font in order to portray a rebellious, anti-capitalist message.
Kruger didn’t own any copywrites on the logo itself, and no legal action could be taken against Supreme, but that didn’t stop the artist from commenting about how she was very displeased about the company so blatantly co-opting her signature style.
In spite of this controversy, though, there’s no denying the fact that the Supreme logo turned out the be very lucrative for the brand. The message that Kruger managed to convey with her artistic style fit Supreme’s target audience perfectly and the popularity of products that featured the Supreme logo skyrocketed, first in New York City and then across the world. Good branding lasts. #PLUMMagency
