New Supreme x Damien Hirst collection earns its place among the greatest fashion collaborations of all time
Bringing together two entities famous in their own right, fashion tie-ups are a tool for introducing brands to new audiences. Think Louis Vuitton and the artist Takashi Murakami, H&M and Karl Lagerfeld, or Dior and Air Jordan, which all broke old boundaries with new ideas. But what if both parties are not only famous, but famous for creating hype and stirring up a frenzy? This is the case with the new collaboration between the US skate streetwear brand Supreme and the British artist Damien Hirst, which has quickly earned its place among the greatest collaborations of all time. Part of its new spring summer 2025 collection, Supreme has unveiled a hooded jacket decorated with arguably Hirst's most famous artwork, a tiger shark preserved in formaldehyde. Overprinted across the front, back, the sleeves and even the hood of the white jacket, the artwork called The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living has been re-birthed for a new generation who may not have even been born when it was first released in 1992. First shown at the Saatchi Gallery's Young British Artists show, it caused uproar and made Hirst a household name. He followed this two years later with another preserved animal, a sheep sliced in half called Away From The Flock. Hirst is skilled at creating noise around his work, perhaps best seen in 2022 when, to boost sale of his NFTs, he burnt roughly £10 million (Dh46 million) worth of his own paintings Likewise, Supreme is adept at getting its audience where it wants them. Having single-handedly invented the concept of the drop, releasing new products online at seemingly random times to keep clients hyper-vigilant to its every move, it has worked with an impressive roster of artists, including Roy Lichtenstein (2006), the Chapman Brothers (2012), Cindy Sherman (2017), Keith Herring (1998) and Jean-Michel Basquiat (2013). This is not the first time Hirst and Supreme have worked together. In 2009 a trio of skateboard decks went on sale, decorated with Hirst's multicoloured spin paintings and are now sought after by Supreme collectors and art galleries alike. It is not just artworks that spur Supreme on. It has also announced a collaboration with Knoll to rework the Barcelona Chair, the 1929 masterpiece by the Bauhaus architect Mies van der Rohe. Originally made in black leather, the new version is made in faded denim. With a new collaboration seemingly announced now every day – many of which will, unfortunately, slip past unnoticed – a few have stood out. Amid the hundreds of fashion alliances, here are some of the most skilful and imaginative. Showing how ahead of her time she was, designer Elsa Schiaparelli called on her friend, Spanish surrealist artist Salvador Dali, to create the Lobster Dress in 1937. In what must be the earliest known collaboration between fashion and art, the dress was made of pale cream silk organza and had a vast lobster hand-painted across the skirt. A one-off gown, it was worn by Wallis Simpson (the woman for whom King Edward VIII abdicated the British throne) and with so much history Schiaparelli later donated it to the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Louis Vuitton's ex-creative director Marc Jacobs can be credited with sparking high-end fashion collaborations. In 2001 – long before such ventures became the norm – he invited American artist Stephen Sprouse to update the Vuitton logo, resulting in a series of bags covered in scrawling Sprouse calligraphy. With lettering that felt urgent, as if written quickly, it merged art, fashion and street graffiti, often in bold black and white or vibrant, neon tones. Snapped up by a new, younger customer, it marked a turning point when fashion began to look for collaborations outside of its universe. During his time at Vuitton, Jacobs commissioned many other collaborations, including with American artist Richard Prince, Japanese artist Takashi Murakami and Jeff Koons. The original high-low combination, high street brand H & gned Karl Lagerfeld to create a one-off collection in 2004. Eager to get their hands on an affordable piece by the creative director of Fendi, Chanel and his namesake label, hundreds camped out on pavements outside H & beat the queues that would later encompass entire city blocks. With thousands looking to nab the sharp, black-and-white pieces that riffed on Lagerfeld's famous high collars, it sold out almost instantly. In 2007, Moss was the queen of all models and TopShop was the high-street shop for fashion-forward looks, making this collaboration destined for greatness even before it launched. Known for her style, Moss created a capsule for the high street that leaned heavily on her own, much sought-after wardrobe. On launch day, she appeared in the store window on Oxford Street wearing one of the dresses she designed. It is now regarded as cult classic. Every subsequent collection sold out almost as fast and, when TopShop went bust in 2020, it made this one for the archives. Two years after taking over at Alexander McQueen, then-creative director Sarah Burton turned to British artist Damien Hirst to mark the 10th anniversary of the McQueen skull scarf. In return, Hirst created 30 limited-edition designs, inspired by McQueen imagery and the artist's own Entomology art series, using bugs, beetles, spiders and butterflies to fashion his ideas. Tapping into a shared fascination for the macabre, it was a mix made in heaven. There was a collective intake of breath when Scottish designer Christopher Kane sent Crocs down the runway of his spring-summer 2017 show. In swirled shades of blues or khaki and studded with rocks, Kane was the first big name to join with the world's most divisive shoe. While critics lined up to heap abuse on the collaboration, Kane opened the doors to what has become an continuing series of tie-ups for the plastic shoe company, with the likes of Simone Rocha and Justin Bieber all lending their names to new decorations. In 2017, Balenciaga created bubblegum pink, platform versions, that despite the $800 price tag, sold out before they even hit the shops. In one of fashion's most unexpected duets, Italian designers Dolce & Gabbana worked with the kitchenware company Smeg to decorate 100 fridges with the bright, bold Sicilian patterning normally seen across its clothes and accessories. Entirely hand-painted, the initial launch has since been followed by kettles, toasters and coffee makers all decorated in the same joyful manner for those craving a slice of Italiana in their homes. In a case of art imitating life, the Supreme and Louis Vuitton collaboration in 2017 followed a fractious history between the two brands. In 2000, Vuitton sued Supreme for copyright infringement, inadvertently propelling the disputed clothes to the top of the 'most coveted' wish list. Fast forward to Kim Jones heading Louis Vuitton menswear, and with his intuitive grasp of a high-low mix, he invited Supreme to join him on a collection shown on the Louis Vuitton autumn-winter 2017 runway. The tie-up had the fashion and streetwear worlds lose their minds. Made available for one day only, the clothes, bags and even skateboards sold out in minutes. The first-ever pairing between the Jordan brand and the French fashion house Dior created a viral moment when five million people signed up for a ballot to buy just 8,500 pairs of the shoe. Individually numbered, each pair of the white and grey trainers had the distinctive Dior monogram on the Swoosh, a Wingman logo reworded to read 'Air Dior' and a translucent blue sole and were priced at $2,000 (Dh7,3450). Just four years later, Dior x Air Jordon 1 High can be found on resale sites for more than Dh100,000. Following two wildly successful collaborations between Gucci and North Face, and with Kering stable mate Balenciaga, then-Gucci creative director Alessandro Michele next chose to team up with sportswear brand adidas on a collection that perfectly merged the worlds of sports and fashion. With the sporting three stripes appearing in all manner of unexpected ways across clothes, bags, accessories and shoes (think clogs and HorseBit loafers) it was light-hearted and bursting with energy, and embodied Michele's ideology that fashion should be fun. Spanish leather house of Loewe and Japanese animation studio Studio Ghibli came together to splash the beloved characters across bags, clothes and accessories. The animated films My Neighbour Totoro, Spirited Away and Howl's Moving Castle served as inspiration for the three capsule collections, with the first release so oversubscribed it crashed the Loewe website, as fans rushed to grab pieces covered with their favourite characters. Milan Fashion Week in September 2021 had a remarkable fashion fusion when rivals Fendi and Versace swapped creative directors. Kim Jones of Fendi took over Versace, while Donatella Versace was handed the reins at Fendi. The resulting fashion collection broke norms and rivalry as fans scrambled to see Versace's Medusa and rococo swirls mixed with Fendi's famous Double F logo.
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