Some fashion collaborations you can see coming from a mile off. Others come out of the blue. And when it comes to generating menswear hype, there’s nothing like a little shock to get you going. Martine Rose linking up with Supreme proved the point. Yesterday, streetwear leaks pages bubbled with whispers of the collab, and today, the news was officially confirmed.
When you actually consider it, it makes sense. London-based designer Martine Rose has shaped contemporary menswear with her subculturally-informed approach, where a youth surrounded by under-the-radar style tribes influenced her own take on menswear. From formative experiences raving as a teen, or the terrace-bound footie fans who banded together in London pubs at the weekend, each one of these experiences and observations can be seen in her designs. Martine Rose subverts the everyday, be it through logo riffs, playful silhouettes, or fabrication, creating a menswear storm loved by everyone from fashion kids to Kendrick Lamar and Rihanna.
On the other hand, Supreme is the downtown NYC skate brand turned streetwear behemoth. It has helped to shape streetwear culture as we know it with its “drop” system of release, buzzy collaborations, and instantly recognizable box logo. If you’re scratching your head at why Supreme and Martine Rose are collaborating, hear us out.
Despite its enormous size, Supreme regularly works with musicians and artists, always keeping one foot in the subcultures that helped make the brand. Take Supreme x Martine Rose campaign for example, where pro skaters Sean Pablo and Sage Elsesser show off the collection alongside Martine Rose muses. The streetwear label taps into skateboarding and music to inform its designs (previous link-ups have seen the brand work with Malcolm McLaren and The Velvet Underground), in a similar way to Martine Rose, so it actually works out really well.
In a statement Rose discussed her approach to design. “I had this broad sense of clothing being associated with different nights and scenes. I had a precocious experience of dance and music culture and how they affected the clothes. It wasn’t fashion. My family’s Jamaican, and there was a very, very particular respect for style. Fashion was something… almost basic; if you had style, that was something else.”
Some of our favorite pieces include a leather jacket and pant, soccer jersey, bar towel hoodies, knitted jumpers, and a photo tee featuring Jamaican producer and composer Lee Scratch Perry. To round out the collaboration, there’s a three-way link-up between Supreme, Martine Rose and Clarks Originals on a snakeskin Desert Trek, likely stemming from Rose’s role as Clarks’ guest creative director. Supreme and Martine Rose also produced a 44-page photo book documenting the collection, with profits being donated to the St. Giles Trust.
The Supreme x Martine Rose capsule will be available on Thursday, September 12 at 11 a.m. EST via the Martine Rose and Supreme web stores.
This story originally appeared on British GQ.
