Gucci and Supreme are equally recognizable brands although they are worlds apart in terms of their appeal to the market. Whereas Gucci is a luxury brand, Supreme is an upmarket streetwear brand favored by skaters and those interested in street art.
Gucci and Supreme have so far not yet done a collaboration although Supreme has collaborated with other luxury brands in the past. Gucci does not frequently collaborate with other brands but recently joined forces with North Face.
The only Gucci associated with the Supreme brand as of yet is Gucci Mane, the rapper, who has been photographed sporting fashion from the streetwear brand.
The Supreme Appeal
As a streetwear brand, Supreme’s distinction lies in having its bold and brightly colored skater-inspired graphics emblazoned on t-shirts, hooded sweatshirts, and sweatpants.
The brand caters more to the older skateboard crowd and the hip-hop, and youth culture with its value proposition being distributing only limited quantities of its merchandise.
This feature makes the brand popular to collectors since, with the passage of time, they could be in possession of an item that could be listed as a rare or limited edition, eventually increasing in value.
Having started in the US, Supreme has undergone rapid expansion to Europe and Asia, gaining more and more recognition and commercial appeal in China and Japan.
This has also presented partnership opportunities with well-known brands such as Samsung.
Collaborations Featuring Supreme
The brand has been collaborating with other equally popular brands over the 25 years of its existence and has cultivated a relatively cult level following since then.
Inspired by both fashion and the skater culture, Supreme is usually more closely linked to skateboarding and automotive collaborations than luxury fashion, but it appears that bit by bit, they are diversifying their associations into other industries.
In more recent times, Supreme and luxury French fashion house Luis Vuitton collaborated to produce a much talked about collection unveiled at the Paris Fashion week in 2017.
This came almost two decades after Supreme first attempted to replicate the famous monogram on some of its pieces and was the recipient of a cease and desist order for the knock-offs as a result.
This unlikely pairing sparked some controversy as the pieces came with the high-fashion price tag expected from Louis Vuitton and it was thought that original Supreme brand enthusiasts were inexorably excluded from this collaboration.
Other notable brands with whom they have created unique pieces are Nike, North Face, Jacob & Co., and Comme des Garçons.
From their Spring 2020 collection, the Supreme logo was fused with brands from a wide range of products; from tools to umbrellas, to clothing, to bikes, even Oreo cookies.
Partnering with brands such as BMX, Schott, Zippo, Ziploc, Fujifilm, and Spalding gives them great coverage across the realm of sports, clothing and accessories, and hobby items, further heightening their visibility and popularity.
Gucci Partnership
Despite the perception that the fashion industry survives mainly on quid pro quo relationships, and increased sales based on hype, Gucci has successfully remained top market for almost 100 years.
It could be said that Gucci does not play well with others. Their reluctance to collaborate could be a decision to prevent the dilution of their brand.
On the other hand, Gucci, a powerhouse all on its own needs not necessarily rely on another label – en vogue though it may be – for promotion.
In September 2020, however, Gucci and North Face, the US-based outdoor brand, announced an upcoming collaboration slated to be released within a few months.
Touted as an initiative that will “celebrate the rich heritage of both brands”, this will be a first for Gucci.
North Face has previously partnered with several other brands – Supreme among them – however, it is their first foray into the luxury fashion sector by teaming up with Gucci.
When Streetwear Meets High Fashion
The Supreme logo is as recognizable as some of the high-fashion labels with which it is affiliated and is increasing in value and popularity with more and more alliances.
They have had repeat collaborations with several high-value luxury brands and it would appear that countless others are lining up around the block to partner with them.
Supreme keeps things fresh by releasing new collections and merchandise every week and the demand for these products is akin to the release of new Apple products each iteration.
Supreme has been described as “the Céline of streetwear”, with its ability to fuse casual streetwear with luxury and high-fashion.
Gucci has ventured into the streetwear niche by launching their own take on this niche in order to reach a specific subset of the market. They have yet to take the leap of faith that Louis Vuitton, Lacoste, and others have done in also riding the Supreme wave.
A favorite among skateboarders, artists, and those craving avant-garde fashion, the Supreme brand is also a collector’s dream having now made the transition from a streetwear brand to more mainstream fashion.