At this stage within the sport, Supreme’s historical past with Nike SB (particularly the Dunk mannequin) is nothing in need of prolific. First launched in 2002, it was the primary shoe the manufacturers collaborated on and continues to be getting particular makeups almost 20 years later. That a lot is frequent information amongst sneakerheads, however what’s much less identified is how the OG Dunks got here to be, and the truth that they virtually did not occur altogether.
Advanced lately spoke with a few of Supreme’s first designers together with Augie Galan and Geoff Heath, each of whom shared perception on the early days of the model’s relationship with the Swoosh. In line with Heath, the partnership received off to a rocky begin to say the least.
“Nike was making an attempt to get into skateboarding, so that they hit up James [Jebbia, Supreme founder] for all this data as a result of he’s received a skate store in New York, Supreme, and so they see what’s happening. They ended up doing their very own factor and didn’t embody James,” Heath mentioned. “He will get all pissed off, calls me up and says, ‘Hey, you recognize the Nike font? Are you able to make ‘Fuck Nike’ T-shirts in that Nike font?’ No downside—banged it out actual fast. He comes over and tells us the story: That they had wined and dined him twice and left him within the mud.”
The “Fuck Nike” T-shirts had been produced in 2001 and commonly resell for upwards of $2,000 right now, however they had been solely the start of the story. One way or the other, Jebbia was capable of mend his relationship with Nike SB, and by the next 12 months, Supreme would launch what has gone on to change into one of the crucial coveted Dunks in existence.
Heath says Jebbia wished to create an SB Dunk superior to the opposite collabs making waves on the time, specifically Alphanumeric, Chocolate, and Zoo York. To take action, he lifted the “Black/Cement” and “True Blue” colorways from the Air Jordan three and reimagined them on the SB Dunk Low.
Picture by way of Nike
“The minute we set that elephant Dunk off, that was it,” Galan mentioned. “Supreme made a Nike and everybody wished a bit of it. By the point we put out these elephant-print Dunks, I believe the hype for sneakers was already there. It was simply not almost as hardcore as it’s now, however it was there for positive.”
To learn the complete oral historical past with Supreme’s former designers, go to Advanced.
