Supreme VS Supreme Italia: Which One Is Real

When Samsung unveiled its partnership with US streetwear brand Supreme in late 2018, it came as quite a surprise to everyone not least to Supreme.

The announcement which was made during the launch of Samsung’s Galaxy A8s smartphone in Beijing, both logos shared the screen. Two men, who were introduced as  Supreme executives unveiled their plans for their company in China, including a seven-story flagship store and an inaugural event at Shanghai’s Mercedes-Benz Arena. 

The brand Supreme that Samsung was using was not the Supreme New York brand but instead, a company knows as Supreme Italia, which has roots in Italy and is run through a Limited Company in the Uk, they’ve even managed to open four physical stores in Spain.

Supreme New York denounced the brand quickly, labeling it as a “counterfeit organization.” Samsung initially denied that it was a fake company but it now deleted the post the tech firm said they always knew it was working with Supreme Italia, which, it said, was the legitimate owner of the Supreme trademark in China.

Soon after Samsung announced that it was reconsidering the collaboration and eventually canceled it entirely. But Supreme Italia has carried on it plans to expand into China.

Supreme started as a humble skate store in Lower Manhattan owned by British-American entrepreneur James Jebbia in 1994. Since then it has grown into one of the most sought after brands across the globe. Supreme has had collaborations with Louis Vuitton, Lacoste, Nike, and Timberland. The brand is valued at more than $1 billion.

Jebbia has changed the rules for streetwear brand, building Supremes fame through social media hype and scarcity. You can only purchase items online or in one of its 11 stores worldwide.

Supreme’s most valued assets are its simple logo, a red rectangle makes with the word Supreme. It was crowned the industry’s most powerful logo by Lyst in 2018. However,  there is a weakness in the “powerful” logo and fakes like Supreme Italia has used it to their advantage.

The color and typeface of Supreme’s logo: red with white lettering in a font called Futura Heavy Oblique, is exactly the same combination used by conceptual artist Barbra Kruger since the 80s. 

The company has a history of toying with other brands designs without permission. Almost two decades before its collaboration with Louis Vuitton they were sent a cease and desist letter from the fashion house for using its monogram print on a series of now-recalled products.

But now the label itself has become a target for imitation. In 2009 Jebbia told interview magazine that “Supreme wasn’t meant to be a brand… it’s a good name, but it’s a difficult one to trademark.” 

Chapter 4, the company that does business as Supreme did not obtain a successful registration of its trademark in the US until 2012. Nearly a year later the firm launched a $10 million lawsuit against brand Married to the Mob after it printed a “Supreme Bitch” logo on some of its products. The parties later settled outside of court.

By 2017, the company was one of the most counterfeited brands in the world. The issue with Supreme Italia is complex as it falls into an area referred to as a “legal fake” by trademark lawyers.

A legal fake occurs when a “fake” company registers a trademark in a certain country before the original owners of the trademark register there. 

Supreme Italia claims it started out in 2012 but it didn’t gain notice until 2016 during Pitti Uomo, an international menswear fair held in Florence, Italy. Images from the event showed hoodies, hats, and T-shirts with the Supreme logo printed on them.

This caused Chapter 4 to sue Supreme Italia in 2017, or more precisely the companies behind the brand; an Italian company that produced and sold the clothes online and in licensed stores and a UK private limited company called International Brand Firm (IBF), who had registered the trademark in Italy and other companies. 

The high court in Milan ruled in Chapter 4 favor twice, in January and April 2017, issuing an injunction that made Supreme Italia’s actions illegal. This is something that Supreme Italia has appealed (and lost once) and could go all the way to Supreme Court.

A similar legal case occurred in Spain where the court actually ruled in IBF favor because it had registered the trademark there before Chapter 4.

As a result, Supreme Spain continues to operate its own website which ships to 40 European countries and has four physical stores in Barcelona, Madrid, Ibiza, and Palma de Mallorca. There is a noticeable difference in the logo which is black text on yellow with the word Spain at the bottom. The clothes, however, feature the familiar red box design.

They can get away with this as there is no distribution of Supreme New York products in Spain in any physical stores. As you know the website sells out of item quickly allowing for these “fakes” to be sold in there place.

IBF holds the trademark Supreme in 67 countries and is working with the Supreme trademark in 90. They have also registered the trademark of the words; Supreme Sport, Supreme Underwear, Supreme Sailing, Supreme Optical Wear, Supreme Home, Supreme Toy school, Supreme Skate Snow Wear.

The clothing from both stores can be seen as similar but Supreme Italia does have some noticeable difference in logo size and designed. The prices between the brands also differ with an original Supreme hoodie retails for $148, while the Supreme Spain hoodie costs €71.20 ($80 approx).

In April 2018 Chapter 4 application for a trademark in Europe was opposed by the European Union Intellectual Property Office. Chapter 4 has since then appealed the decision.

The issue with legal fakes is that consumers may be misled into buying these products believing they are the original. 

Next up, Supremes’ Latest Collab With Air Max Set To Drop This Week