Chapter One
5 A sprawling single-story building...and surfboard making: Sharael Kolberg, “Arts Colony in the Canyon,” Laguna Beach Magazine, December 22, 2011.
5 1980, Shawn Stüssy Instagram, October 21, 2015, https://www.instagram.com/shawnstussy/.
5 Bob Marley blared…floated through the air: “A Chat With Shawn Stüssy,” Empire Ave, July 10, 2013. https://empireave.com/featured/shawn-stussy-interview/.
5 Short and powerful quivers...mid-length twin fins: Henry Knapp, “The Archive: Stüssy Surfboards,” Shred Sledz, https://shredsledz.net/tag/stussy-surfboards/.
6 $300: Robert W. Stewart and Jim Newton, “Awesome Dude: Shawn Stüssy’s Company May Be on the Short List of Successes in Beachwear These Days,” Los Angeles Times, January 8, 1991.
6 a nod to the signature: “Self-Guided Art Tour: Jan Stussy,” UCLA Luskin Conference Center,
https://luskinconferencecenter.ucla.edu/art-tour/jan-stussy/.
6 an accomplished painter and university art professor: Burt Folkart, “Jan Stussy; Multimedia Artist, 1st Full UCLA Art Professor,” Los Angeles Times, August 5, 1990.
6 hundreds of times: “A Chat With Shawn Stüssy,” Empire Ave, July 10, 2013.
https://empireave.com/featured/shawn-stussy-interview/.
6 “The sixties surf culture”: Lara Chan-Baker, “Interview: Shawn Stüssy,” Acclaim Magazine, 2013, https://acclaimmag.com/style/interview-shawn-stussy/.
6 Letraset sheets, Shawn Stüssy Instagram, February 20, 2018.
7 $250,000: Mary Ann Galante, “Surfwear: On Mighty Sales Wave, Firms Run Risk of Wipeout.” Los Angeles Times, March 8, 1987.
7 was exported to California…and Europe: Bradley Hook, “Company Profile: Billabong,” Surfd, https://surfd.com/2021/04/surf-brand-profile-billabong/.
7 $861,000: Hook, “Company Profile: Billabong.”
7 to Betty and Kenneth Stussy…his printing business: Christian Beamish, “When the Bassline Thumps: Woodshop to Hip Hop with Shawn Stüssy,” Surfer’s Journal, Volume 25, Number 3, June/July 2016.
8 Shawn made his first board: “Surfers’ Hall of Fame To Honor Stüssy, Inc. Founder Shawn Stüssy,” Surfer’s Hall of Fame, 2016, https://www.hsssurf.com/pages/2016-inductees/.
8 his woodshed teacher...work experience: Beamish, “When the Bassline Thumps.
8 Russell Surfboards: Shawn Stüssy Instagram, December 1, 2018.
8 packed his clementine-colored Beetle...shape boards and surf: Shawn Stüssy Instagram, December 4, 2018.
8 worked as a graphic designer…namely Gotcha: Shawn Stüssy Instagram, August 11, 2017.
8 The rebellious label introduced…attitude-heavy magazine ads: Laylan Connelly, “Michael Tomson, Co-Founder of Gotcha, ‘Always Ahead of the Curve’,” Orange County Register, October 12, 2020, https://www.ocregister.com/2020/10/09/michael-tomson-co-founder-of-gotcha-always-ahead-of-the-curve/.
8 work for himself: James Oliver, “Interview: Shawn Stüssy,” New Order, April 2020, https://thenewordermag.com/tno/shawnstussy/.
9 “It was like my art.”: “A Chat With Shawn Stüssy”
9 his phone rang with a call…his credit card: Luke Leitch, “Shawn Stüssy: L'uomo Che Ha Inventato Lo Streetwear,” Vogue Italia, December 2, 2019, https://www.vogue.it/moda/article/shawn-stussy-intervista-kim-jones-dior/.
9 the entire day on a single board : Jason Crombie, “The Shawn Stüssy Interview,” Monster Children, Issue #30, 2011.
9 putting on Marley..sparking an oversized joint: Crombie, “The Shawn Stüssy Interview.”
9 inspired by the tees made by Tony Alva: Jason Jules, “The Lexicon of Street Culture,” Vocal Media, September 2018, https://vocal.media/styled/the-lexicon-of-street-culture/.
10 Oh fuck…are you kidding me?: “A Chat With Shawn Stüssy.”
10 One thousand shirts at eight bucks a pop: “A Chat With Shawn Stüssy.”
10 some homespun shorts…every surplus store in the area: “A Chat With Shawn Stüssy.”
10 $25,000: Beamish, “When the Bassline Thumps.”
10 “It was never like,”: “A Chat With Shawn Stüssy.”
Chapter Two
13 the Graffiti War: Murray Schumach, “At $10‐Million, City Calls It a Losing Graffiti Fight,” New York Times, March 28, 1973.
13 spent millions upon millions…increasing aggressive policing: Ari L. Goldman, “City to Use Pits of Barbed Wire in Graffiti War,” New York Times, December 15, 1981.
14 In the ultra-flat black…badly burned and founded: John Seroff, “Who Exactly Was ‘J. Walter Negro’?,” NYC, 1981, November 14, 2014.
14 “People out to have canvas to work on.”: Micheal T. Kaufman, “An Underground Graffitist Pleads From Hospital: Stop the Spraying,” New York Times, October 18, 1973.
14 set up a studio called the Soul Artists…the Lower East Side: R. J. Rushmore, “The Soul Artists,” Viral Art, February 18, 2014, https://viralart.vandalog.com/read/chapter/the-soul-artists/.
15 artist-impresario Andy Warhol…photojournalist Martha Cooper: Rushmore, “The Soul Artists.”
15 Kodachrome film: Martha Cooper Instagram, November 25, 2020.
15 DIY cardboard cameras or Instamatics: Niko Koppel, “Showcase: ‘Subway Art’,” New York Times, June 12, 2009, lens.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/06/12/showcase-5/.
16 When Martha Cooper looked…Subway Art: Koppel, “Showcase: ‘Subway Art’.”
16 in the midst of an art boom: Peter C.T. Elsworth, “The Art Boom: Is It Over, or Is This Just a Correction?,” New York Times, December 16, 1990.
16 Jeffrey Deitch gave…Willem de Kooning: Cathleen McGuigan, “New Art, New Money,” New York Times Magazine, February 10, 1985.
16 downtown queen Patti Astor: Josephine Reed, “Patti Astor and FUN Gallery,” American Artscape Magazine, No. 2, 2013.
16 Beyond Words: Rushmore, “The Mudd Club and ‘Beyond Words’,” Viral Art.
16 “Here’s a whole new art world”: Glenn O’Brien, “1981: New York/New Wave,” Artforum, Vol. 41, No. 7, March 2003.
16 “the tradition of Pop Art”: Katie Linker, “Post-Graffiti,” Artforum, Vol. 22, No. 7, March 1984.
16 one of Fun Gallery’s top sellers…$6,000 a canvas: Calvin Tomkins, “Up From the I.R.T.,” New Yorker, March 18, 1984.
17 all Haring with his own money: Suzanne Slesin, “An Artist Turns Retailer,” New York Times, April 18, 1986.
18 floor-to-ceiling graffiti: Slesin, “An Artist Turns Retailer.”
18 dance music blared: Rebecca Milzoff, “Haring’s Pop Shop Fizzles Out,” New York, August 19, 2005.
18 a Haring poster…a sweatshirt for thirty: Slesin, “An Artist Turns Retailer.”
18 Kenny Scharf, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Eric Haze, and Futura: Brad Gooch, “Radiant: The Life and Line of Keith Haring,” (New York: Harper, 2024), 295.
18 Man Made: Colby Mugrabi, “Man Made by Basquiat,” Minnie Muse, May 19, 2019, https://www.minniemuse.com/articles/musings/basquiat-man-made/.
18 “street-smart B-boy”: Karen Schoemer, “‘Indie’ Rock Settles Into the Executive Suite,” New York Times, June 6, 1993.
19 $30 million: Mary Ann Galante, “Calif. Companies Ride to Success With Skateboarding,” Los Angeles Times, April 17, 1988.
19 $25,000: McGuigan, “New Art, New Money.”
19 $40,000: Robin Pogrebin, “Taking Keith Haring Seriously,” New York Times, April 25, 2023.
19 $350,000: Andrew L. Yarrow, “Keith Haring, Artist, Dies at 31; Career Began in Subway Graffiti,” New York Times, February 17, 1990.
Chapter Three
21 On a brisk Friday morning…: Rack-Lo, “Life and Times of Rack-Lo: The Silk Crizzy Rush,” RACK-LO, October 1, 2017, YouTube video, 10:49, https://youtube.com/watch?v=aLaVgh8gfUQ.
22 “The only thing about that day”: Rack-Lo, “The Silk Crizzy Rush.”
23 started off…full-blown lifestyle brand: “Ralph On the Rise,” https://www.ralphlauren.com/rlmag/wwd-fifty-years-of-ralph-lauren-book.html.
23 $70: Lisa Belkin, “Lauren Look Permeating City,” New York Times, December 8, 1986.
23 $1,000: Woody Hochswender, “Clothes Make the Cocktail Party, Too,” New York Times, August 29, 1990.
23 “For many low-income individuals,”: Juliet B. Schor, “The Overspent American: Upscaling, Downshifting, and the New Consumer,” (New York: Basic Books, 1998), 39.
23 private education…for their closets: Schor, The Overspent American, 11.
23 $700 million: Allen R. Myerson, “Business Diary,” New York Times, February 10, 1991.
24 Manhattan keeps on: Boogie Down Productions. “The Bridge Is Over.” Track 8 on Criminal Minded. B-Boy Records, 1987, CD.
24 The Lo Life Crew…: George “Rack-Lo” Billips & Jackson Blount, “Lo Life: An American Classic,” (Brooklyn, powerHouse Books, 2016), 4, 13 – 21.
24 They learned how to…rob a rival booster: Billups & Blount, “Lo Life: An American Classic,” 153 – 157.
24 “I’ve always been poor, so I”: Billups & Blount, “Lo Life: An American Classic,” 28.
24: Rack-Lo…B-Bob Lo: Billups & Blount, “Lo Life: An American Classic,” 13 – 52.
25 “bag men”: Billups & Blount, “Lo Life: An American Classic,” 13 – 52.
25 Sometimes they’d rob a rival booster: Billups & Blount, “Lo Life: An American Classic,” 28.
25 Bloomingdale’s, Bergdorf Goodman…and Pennsylvania: Billups & Blount, “Lo Life: An American Classic,” 137– 171.
25 “These were items of respect”: Victor “Thirstin Howl the 3rd” DeJesus, “Bury Me With the Lo On,” Victory Journal, 2017, Vimeo video, 07:42, https://vimeo.com/233743234/.
26 “We would go into the store”: Kemet High, “The Real and Raucous Story of the Lo Life Crew,” The Fader, December 7, 2016, https://www.thefader.com/2016/12/07/lo-life-crew-interview/.
26 “If someone got arrested,”: Billups & Blount, “Lo Life: An American Classic,” 139.
26 “When I was growing up,”: David Marchese, “Dapper Dan on Creating Style, Logomania and Working with Gucci,” New York Times, July 1, 2019.
27 “When Lo Life started wearing Polo,”: Gregk Foley, “50 Years of Ralph Lauren: Celebrating Half a Century of the Quintessential American Wardrobe,” Highsnobiety, https://archive.highsnobiety.com/p/ralph-lauren-brand-history/.
27 “We looked like the millionaires”: Billups & Blount, “Lo Life: An American Classic,” 8.
28 The streets of Harlem: Kelefa Sanneh, “Harlem Chic,” New Yorker, March 18, 2013.
Chapter Four
30 $25,000 to $50,000: Beamish, “When the Bassline Thumps.”
31 $1 billion: Mary Ann Galante, “Surfwear: On Mighty Sales Wave, Companies Run Risk of Wipeout,” Los Angeles Times, March 8, 1987.
31 $100 million: Vicky Clepper, “Gotcha Grasping for Wider Market in Surf Wear With ‘Irreverent’ Ads,” Los Angeles Times, September 1, 1987.
31 $34 million: Mary Ann Galante, “Quicksilver Rises on Lost of Small Firms,” Los Angeles Times, May 20, 1988.
32 $380 million: Jeff Rowe, “Ocean Pacific’s Sales Tide Rises With Off-Beach Wear,” Los Angeles Times, January 11, 1987.
32 “Silicon Valley of rad threads”: Mary Ann Galante, “Waves of Surfwear Makers Back-Paddling to Avoid Wiping Out,” Los Angeles Times, November 11, 1987.
32 Gotcha planned to…spent $300,000: Galante, “Surfwear: On Mighty Sales Wave.”
33 “We couldn’t afford high-fashion”: Arthur Bay, “Sunrise Over Stüssy With OG Jules Gayton,” 032C, November 16, 2017, https://032c.com/magazine/sunrise-over-stussy-with-og-jules-gayton/.
33 Michael Kopelman, Mick Jones…Hiroshi Fujiwara: Jason Jules, “The Lexicon of Street Culture,” Vocal Media, September 2018, https://vocal.media/styled/the-lexicon-of-street-culture/.
34 “I got no inspiration from the surf world”: “A Chat With Shawn Stüssy.”
35 “London and New York and”: Rose Apodaca, “The Stussy Style : Irvine Clothier Heightens Hype by Playing Hard to Get,” Los Angeles Times, July 12, 1992.
36 “If anyone can bridge the gap”: Neil Feineman, “‘Dude Clothes’ Ride Big Wave in L.A. and Abroad,” Los Angeles Times, June 21, 1989.
36 $10 million: Feineman, “‘Dude Clothes’.”
36 “A lot of people tell us”: Feineman, “‘Dude Clothes’.”
Chapter Five
37 three hundred square feet: Cara Greenberg, “Where the Clothes Match the Music,” New York Times, June 13, 1993.
37 name was meant to convey: Greenberg, “Where the Clothes Match the Music.”
37 voluminous pants…high-top sneakers: Rebecca Mead, “The Brit Pack,” New York Magazine, August 26, 1991.
38 James was born…south of London; Jeremy Abbott, “Supreme Genius James Jebbia on Creating the Coolest Streetwear Brand,” GQ Style Magazine, October 14, 2017.
38 “The shops that carried”: Robert Sullivan, “Charting the Rise of Supreme, From Cult Skate Shop to Fashion Superpower,” Vogue, August 10, 2017.
38 an apartment on Staten Island: Abbott, “Supreme Genius.”
38 grandiose pillars…concrete floors: Bernadine Morris, “Fashion Uptown & Down,” New York Times Magazine, November 4, 1984.
38 David Bowie, Mick Jagger, and Andy Warhol: Juliana Ukiomogbe, “Parachute Celebrates 40 Years of Dressing Mick Jagger and Madonna,” Interview Magazine, November 23, 2021, https://www.interviewmagazine.com/fashion/parachute-celebrates-40-years-of-dressing-mick-jagger-and-madonna/.
38 “We hit it off”: Eddie Cruz, interview by Josh Levine, “Eddie Cruz of Undefeated: You Have to Stand for Something,” Rebel Radio, YouTube video, 1:29:35, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dxkHoGfgw-A/.
39 Liquid Sky: William Van Meter, “An Oral History of Legendary ’90s Rave Emporium Liquid Sky,” The Cut, April 23, 2015, https://www.thecut.com/2015/04/oral-history-of-a-legendary-90s-rave-store.html/.
39 Patricia Fields: Michael Gross, “Notes on Fashion,” New York Times, October 29, 1985.
39 Comme des Garçons: Suzanne Slesin, “Serene Spot For Shirt Shopping,” New York Times, October 6, 1988.
39 Yohji Yamamoto: Suzanne Slesin, “Two New Stores Set a Style,” New York Times, April 21, 1988.
39 Agnès b: Ellen Tien, “Agnès b.'s SoHo Art,” New York Times, March 31, 2011.
40 By 1991: Enid Nemy, “Style Makers; Camella Ehlke, Clothing Designer,” New York Times, June 30, 1991.
41 “It really helped our business”: Jian DeLeon, “The Oral History of Stüssy: Part 1,” Complex, December 18, 2012, https://www.complex.com/style/a/jian-deleon/the-oral-history-of-stussy-part-1/.
42 one dollar a year: Beamish, “When the Bassline Thumps.”
42: “New York ended up being”: Beamish, “When the Bassline Thumps.”
43 “They needed to keep warm”: Michel Marriott, “The Carhartt Jacket,” November 29, 1992, New York Times.
43 “the first urban buyers”: Rob Walker, Buying In: The The Secret Dialogue Between What We Buy and Who We Are (New York: Random House, 2008), 83.
43 The New Stüssy store…“downtown money.”: Rebecca Mead, “Stupid Hip Stüssy,” New York Magazine, December 9, 1991.
43 they saw the designer Giorgio Armani: Kim-Van Dang, “Stüssy: From Surf to Street,” WWD, September 22, 1993.
43 “A lot of people collect them”: “The Look: Shawn Stüssy,” BBC Four, 1990s.
44 John F. Kennedy Jr…Matt Dillon: DeLeon, “The Oral History of Stüssy.”
44 “I think it made people feel”: DeLeon, “The Oral History of Stüssy.”
Chapter Six
47 especially loved Seditionaries: Riv, “Seditionaries Collection Book,” Archive, January 16, 2023, https://www.archivepdf.net/hiroshi-fujiwara-jun-takahashi-seditionaries-collection-book-2005/.
47 won a fashion contest: “The Trendsetter,” Newsweek, December 10, 2000, https://www.newsweek.com/trendsetter-156121/.
47 he met McLaren…was in New York: Koshiro Tamada, “Hiroshi Fujiwara on London in the ‘80s and His Upcoming Collaboration with the Face,” Tokion, December 1, 2020, https://tokion.jp/en/2020/11/17/hiroshi-fujiwara-slumbers2/.
47 moved to Tokyo: Fraser Cooke, “Hiroshi Fujiwara,” Interview Magazine, March 23, 2010, https://www.interviewmagazine.com/fashion/hiroshi-fujiwara/.
48 “It was an amazing mixture of people,”: Tomoharu Kotsuka and Yuka Iwakoshi, English translation by Mariko Endo, “Learning Japanese Youth Culture Through the Interview With Hiroshi Fujiwara,” Educated Community, July 2004.
48 the way of the American DJ: Arthur Chmielewski and Zen Tsujimoto, “Going With the Times,” Intelligence Magazine, https://web.archive.org/web/20160514023155/http://www.intelligencemagazine.com/hiroshi-fujiwara/.
48 Rise Bar: Kotsuka, Iwakoshi, and Endo, “Learning Japanese Youth Culture.”
48 “No one was carrying their own”: Cooke, “Hiroshi Fujiwara.”
49: Last Orgy launched as: Joe Goodwin, “Last Orgy: Tracing Down The Legacy Of Japan’s Most Important Fashion Column,” Sabukaru, https://sabukaru.online/articles/last-orgy/.
48 Hiroshi interviewed Shawn…the International Stüssy Tribe: W. David Marx, Ametora: How Japan Saved American Style (New York: Basic Books, 2015), 177.
49 GOODENOUGH: Sabukaru, https://sabukaru.online/articles/an-ura-hara-champion-goodenough/.
49 He partnered with Toru Iawai: Marx, Ametora, 177.
49 1990: Stüssy Instagram, December 24, 2014.
49 the first gathering of…to name a few: “Stüssy World Tribe Tokyo Meeting ’91” Isolation Labs, YouTube video, 3:59, https://youtube.com/watch?v=waZU8usqFus/.
50 amekaji: Marx, Ametora, 168 – 169.
50 Levi’s 501…Superstar sneakers: Takashi Suzuki, “Nigo,” Pig Mag, May 24, 2005, https://web.archive.org/web/20070712160357/http://pigmag.com/it/2005/05/24/nigo-english/.
50 the editorial classes: Fraser Cooke, “We Know Nigo,” System Magazine, Issue 19, https://system-magazine.com/issues/issue-19/nigo-kenzo-fraser-cooke-interview-tomoaki-nagao/.
51 singing Sex Pistols songs: Gabby Wood, “Jun Takahashi, the Sorcerer of Fashion,” New York Times Style Magazine, August 17, 2017.
51 like Rei Kawakubo and Martin Margiela; Tim Blanks, interviews by Kim Jones and Nobuhiko Kitamura, “The Legendary. Jun Takahashi.,” System Magazine, Issue 11, https://system-magazine.com/issues/issue-11/undercover/.
51 “Something interesting about Tokyo”: Cooke, “We Know Nigo.”
51: he was given a nickname: Marx, Ametora, 176.
51: Jun was Jonio: Wood, “Jun Takahashi, the Sorcerer of Fashion.”
51: Sk8thing: Mark Gilcher, “Sk8thing: The Low Key Designer behind Bape, BBC, and Cav Empt,” Subukaru, https://sabukaru.online/articles/sk8thing-in-the-shadows/.
51 “I learned so much”: Cooke, “We Know Nigo.”
52 part-time job working for Popeye: Marx, Ametora, 177.
52 “We opened [Nowhere]”: Cooke, “We Know Nigo.”
52 Why don’t you start: Cooke, “We Know Nigo.”
53: Japanese fashion was layered and dramatic: Carrie Donovan, “Fashion View: Much Ado About the Japanese,” New York Times Magazine, July 31, 1983.
53 “in Japan, the right T-shirt”: Rebecca Mead, “Shopping Rebellion,” New Yorker, March 10, 2002.
53 “classic American casual items”: Marx, Ametora, 183.
54 After watching the Planet of the Apes movies: Marx, Ametora, 179.
54 $4 million Japanese yen: Nigo, interview by Lorraine Hahn, Talk Asia, CNN, February 28, 2006, https://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/asiapcf/02/28/talkasia.nigo.script/.
54 “We carried on like that”: Suzuki, “Nigo.”
54 “Last Orgy 2”…”Last Orgy 3”: Goodwin, “Last Orgy.”
Chapter Seven
57 wrote graffiti as a hardcore punk teenager: Gary Warnett, “Erik Brunetti: The Outsider Artist,” Inventory Magazine, Issue 12, 2016.
57 cross-country trip: “2488 Words with Erik Brunetti,” Goodhood, 2017, https://goodhoodstore.com/en-us/blogs/features/2488-words-with-erik-brunetti/.
57 took a swing at the world: Ceremony. “Kersed.” Track 1 on Ruined. Malfunction Records, 2005, EP.
57 Void records: Sean Reveron, “Inspiration Is the Vibration! Erik Brunetti,” Cvlt Nation, April 27, 2022, https://cvltnation.com/inspiration-is-the-vibration-erik-brunetti-fuct/.
57 An early FUCT design…“buy a gun.”: Erik Brunetti with Aaron Rose and Gary Warnett, Erik Brunetti (New York, Rizzoli International Publications, 2012), 28 – 69.
58 ink and paper…crispest graphics: Erik Brunetti, Oval Parody, (TK)
58 “You can totally rip off any image”: Martin Pearson, “FUCT in the U.S.A.,” i-D Magazine, No. 130, July 1994.
58 with his friend Natas Kaupas: Brunetti, Erik Brunetti, 24 – 25
58 the cover of Thrasher: Thrasher Magazine, September 1984, https://www.thrashermagazine.com/articles/magazine/september-1984/.
58 World Industries: Michael Brooke, “The Story of World Industries,” Surfer Today, 2007.
58 Natas started 101 Skateboards: Eric Swisher, “Chrome Ball Interview #65: Natas Kaupas,” Chrome Ball, July 11, 2013, https://chromeballincident.blogspot.com/2013/07/chrome-ball-interview-65-natas-kaupas.html/.
58 “My background is affirmably rooted”: “2488 Words with Erik Brunetti,” Goodhood.
59 “FUCT was being sold everywhere”: Ian Michna, “Discussing the History of Fuct & the Current Streetwear Market,” Jenkem, May 23, 2019, https://www.jenkemmag.com/home/2019/05/23/discussing-history-fuct-current-streetwear-market/.
59 $1.5 billion: Greg Johnson, “Beach Wear Industry Poised to Get Out of Its Endless Bummer,” Los Angeles Times, February 21, 1994.
59 $490 million: Mary Ann Galante, “Skateboarding’s More Than 20 Million Practitioners Fuel Booming Market That’s Giving Pause to Surfing Industry,” Los Angeles Times, April 17, 1988.
60 MTV hired its…the flannel shirt: Rick Marin, “Grunge: A Success Story,” New York Times, November 15, 1992.
60 The Baffler proclaimed: Thomas Frank, “The Teen Rebel as Model Consumer,” The Baffler, December 1993.
60 “rebel advertising”…a “punk rock” car: Steven Daly and Nathaniel Wice, Alt. Culture: An A-to-Z Guide to the ’90s—Underground, Online and Over-the-Counter (New York, Harper Collings, 1995), TK TK.
60 Erik restarted FUCT…graffiti mural: Brunetti, Erik Brunetti, 26 – 27.
60 Erik stopped by…faxed it over: Michna, “Discussing the History of Fuct.”
61 “I would make it according”: Michna, “Discussing the History of Fuct.”
61 “Getting into Union”: Warnett, “Erik Brunetti: Outsider Artist.”
61 thought the brand…United Kingdom: Warnett, “Erik Brunetti: Outsider Artist.”
62 “Zack wore the tee so often”: Erik Brunetti, Erik Brunetti: Oval Parody, (Italy: Kaleidoscope, 2022), 30.
62 quantities of ten thousand: Zan Dubin, “Graffiti Artists Cashing in on Talents : Entrepreneurs: Taggers Have Taken Their Controversial Handiwork to Retail Trade,” Los Angeles Times, June 1, 1993.
62 the joint X-FUCT storefront: Brunetti, Erik Brunetti, 71.
62 Erik partnered with a young art student…pistol into the ceiling: Jeff Spurrier, Details, 1990s.
62 Dorthys Fortress: Brunetti, Erik Brunetti, 119.
63 sent Eddie Cruz: Rebel Radio, “Eddie Cruz of Undefeated.”
63 “white B-boy who’s into fashion”: Anna Scott, “The Comeback of Freshjive,” Los Angeles Downtown News, October 30, 2009.
63 $300,000: Rick Klotz, “What a Long Strange Trip It’s Been,” Shot By JFK, September 28, 2010, Vimeo video, 06:17 https://vimeo.com/15349911/.
63 The Seventh Letter: Shelley Leopold, “The Rise of The Seventh Letter,” LA Weekly, July 11 2007.
63 Ivan Karp: Douglas Martin, “Ivan Karp, Pop Art Dealer, Dies at 86,” New York Times, June 29, 2012.
63 resulting exhibition was Lost: Mark Ehrman, “The (Sad) Truth About Cats and Dogs,” Los Angeles Times, October 14, 1996.
63 “I don’t think that this”: Ehrman, “The (Sad) Truth About Cats and Dogs.”
63 hand-pulled silk screen posters: Erik Brunetti Instagram, January 10, 2020
63 Ricard Durado: David Colker, “Richard Duardo Dies at 62; Printmaker Was Key in Chicano Art Community,” Los Angeles Times, November 16, 2014.
63 “I could not maintain”: Warnett, “Erik Brunetti: Outsider Artist.”
64 largely passed on exhibition: Brunetti, Erik Brunetti, 91.
64 “We don’t even categorize”: Pearson, “FUCT in the U.S.A.”
Chapter Eight
68 a bombastic rags-to-riches story… Public Enemy: Russell Simmons with Nelson George, Life and Def: Sex, Drugs, Money + God (New York: Crown Publishers, 2001) 11 – 115.
68 “I was in there all the time”: Simmons, Life and Def, 155.
69 Time Cafe: Leslie Gourse, “Manhattan’s Hip New Strip,” Los Angeles Times, September 22, 196.
69 Russell’s three-story penthouse: Sara Polsky, “One of Russell Simmons' Silk Building Apartments Back on Market,” Curbed, July 7, 2010, https://ny.curbed.com/2010/7/7/10510062/one-of-russell-simmons-silk-building-apartments-back-on-market/.
70 a more all-American look: Alex Gale, “The Most Stylish Rapper Alive, Every Year Since 1979,” Complex, June 28, 2013, https://www.complex.com/style/a/alex-gale/the-most-stylish-rapper-alive-every-year-since-1979/.
71 In 1990…half of that.: Mary Ann Galante, “Action Sports Moves Its Trade Expo on Surf and Skate Wear to San Diego,” Los Angeles Times, February 1, 1990.
71“most striking growth”: John H. Lee, “Recession Takes Zip Out of Sports Trade Show,” Los Angeles Times, February 5, 1992.
71 Cross Colours: Lewis MacAdams, “Loose Threads,” Los Angeles Times, June 26, 1994.
71 $40 million: MacAdams, “Loose Threads.”
72 $175,000: Ian Fisher, “Phat City,” New York Times, April 4, 1993.
72 The debut collection…with a canvas jacket: Fisher, “Phat City.”
72 “It’s fun, and I can”: Fisher, “Phat City.”
72 $40 million: Fisher, “Phat City.”
74 a licensing deal with USA Classics: Simmons, Life and Def, 158.
74 Marc “Ali” André Edmonds’ blessing: David Browne, “Dogtown East,” New York Magazine, June 3, 2005.
Chapter Nine
78 he showed his work:
79 he printed bootleg tees..he kept it up: Josh Franklin, Subblueminal: Visual Maintenance in the Art of Josh ‘Stash’ Franklin Vol. 1 (New York: Invasion Studios, 2022), 56.
79 “I wanted to make some Krylon T-shirts”: Franklin, Subblueminal, 56.
78 “You’re just reppin’ brands”: Leonard McGurr, interview by Eli Morgan Gesner, “How Futura 2000 Went From Graffiti Pioneer To Culture And Streetwear Icon,” Uproxx, September 25, 2019, YouTube video, 13:19, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fw9IwEMb9bg/.
79 “The eighties spit out all these ex-graffiti”: William Van Meter, “Graffiti Artist Futura Was a Peer of Basquiat and Haring—and Then Left the Art World Completely. Now, at 66, He’s Making His Way Back”, Artnet, August 30, 2022, https://news.artnet.com/art-world/graffiti-artist-futura-interview-2165730/.
79 Not From Concentrate poked at that: Franklin, Subblueminal, 70.
79 explained the practice of “blunting”: Bruce Vielmetti, “Not the Kind of Smoke They Had in Mind,” Tampa Bay Times, February 22, 1993.
80 Vibe later called it: Preezy Brown, “A Vibe-Era Timeline Of Hip-Hop’s Relationship With Cigars And Rolling Papers,” Vibe, April 20, 2019, https://www.vibe.com/features/editorial/timeline-of-hip-hops-relationship-with-cigars-and-rolling-papers-645080/.
80 Louis Menand once described: Louis Menand, "Before Roy Lichtenstein Went Pop,” New Yorker, July 21, 2021.
81 Warhol produced over…nineteen thousand prints: The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, https://warholfoundation.org/warhol/catalogue-raisonne/paintings-sculptures-drawings/.
81 “It was just me making fun”: Leitch, “Shawn Stüssy: Inventato Lo Streetwear.”
81 In early 1992: Beastie Boys Interview, Yo! MTV Raps, February 29, 1992.
81 Word only reached Hav-A-Tampa…unofficial merchandise: Vielmetti, “Not the Kind of Smoke.”
81 donate corporate royalties: Vielmetti, “Not the Kind of Smoke.”
82 three hundred thousand bogus shirts: Vielmetti, “Not the Kind of Smoke.”
82 Cypress Hill: Kim France, “Being Blunt,” New York Magazine, August 3, 1992.
82 Marky Mark: The Face, No 150, November 1992.
82 GQ noted: Vielmetti, “Not the Kind of Smoke.”
82 “It was super tough to get GFS”: Fraser Cooke, “Tokyo: Fashion Hits the Streets,” Art in the Streets, https://artinthestreets.org/text/tokyo-fashion-hits-the-streets/.
82 Fab 5 Friday interviewed: Yo! MTV Raps, 1992, https://vimeo.com/38077876/.
82 “I mean, if Andy can take”: France, “Being Blunt.”
83 “Compared to the West Coast,”: Franklin, Subblueminal, 36.
84 Futura gave him a recap: Franklin, Subblueminal, 173 – 175.
84 “Everything changed when Stash and I”: Franklin, Subblueminal, 108.
Chapter Ten
85 the Roxy nightclub: Robbie Ettelson, “An Oral History of New York’s Early Hip-Hop Clubs,” Easey, May 2014, https://www.pbsfm.org.au/sites/default/files/media/2019/05/pbs_easey_mag_may_2014full.pdf/.
85 hip-hop’s entire package: Michel Marriott, “Hip-Hop’s Hostile Takeover,” New York Times, September 20, 1992
85 MTV generation: John J. O’Connor, “On MTV, Talking About the MTV Generation,” New York Times, November 6, 1991.
85 sold out across New York City: Neil Strauss, “For Every Beat There Is a Fashion,” New York Times, February 26, 1995.
85 “I was definitely inspired by Lo Lifes”: Melvin Backman, “Polo Ralph Lauren’s Complicated Streetwear Past,” New Yorker, February 2, 2018.
85 ran a five-page fashion story: Steven Daly, “Living the Lo Life”, The Face, No 49, October 1992.
86 “It’s very important the kids”: Rose Apodaca, “The Stüssy Style: Irvine Clothier Heightens Hype by Playing Hard to Get,” Los Angeles Times, July 12, 1992.
86 an exclusive Carhartt jacket: Sotheby’s, “Original Unworn Tommy Boy Staff Carhartt Jacket, 1992,” https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/auction/2020/hip-hop/tommy-boy-records-original-unworn-tommy-boy-staff/.
86 record label jumped…clothing line: Martin Kihn, “Tommy Boy Is a Girl,” New York Times, July 5, 1992.
87 Quicksilver introduced…elsewhere than the beach: Neil Feineman, “Surf’s Down : Designers Shift Focus to Streets as Clothing Lines Hit Bottom,” Los Angeles Times, January 8, 1991.
87 an eight-ball graphic…over $1,000: Ben Detrick, “A ’90s Jacket Comes Back Into Fashion,” New York Times, December 24, 2014.
87 A wardrobe of…wooden beads: Susan Orlean, “Living Large: The World of Fab Five Freddy,” New Yorker, June 10, 1991.
88 an evolution of the B-boy style: Hilary Moss, “A History of Hip-Hop and Fashion, as Told by Nas,” New York Times Style Magazine, June 25, 2015.
88 $10 billion: Chuck Philips, “‘93 Sales Break Sound Barrier,” Los Angeles Times, February 25, 1994.
89 “All of a sudden, millions of”: Peter Dougherty, “Stüssy x Yo! MTV Raps - The Importance of Yo! MTV Raps,” Stüssy, August 4, 2013, Vimeo video, 07:34, https://vimeo.com/71934383/e36badb119/.
89 “Hip-hop wasn’t hung up on”: John Seabrook, Nobrow: The Culture of Marketing, the Marketing of Culture (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2000), 76 - 77.
89 Vibe later said: Keith Murphy, “1993: The Year Hip-Hop and R&B Conquered the World,” Vibe, January 11, 2016, https://www.vibe.com/news/entertainment/1993-the-year-hip-hop-and-rb-conquered-the-world-397576/.
90 “Ralph Lauren has used”: Dan Shaw, “Black, Male and, Yes, a Supermodel,” New York Times, November 20, 1994.
90 “inventive low-priced clothes”: Marguerite T. Smith, “Sustaining Williwear’s Spirit,” New York Times, May 17, 1987.
90 $25 million: Smith, “Sustaining Williwear’s Spirit.”
90 $80 million…$50 million: MacAdams, “Loose Threads.”
91 “all but disintegrated under an ocean of debt”: Robert Wynne, “At 26, Designer Karl Kani Sits Atop His Own Fashion Empire,” Los Angeles Times, December 4, 1994.
91 “All I can say”: MacAdams, “Loose Threads.”
91 named Carl Williams..growing category: Elena Romero, Free Stylin’: How Hip Hop Changed the Fashion Industry (Santa Barbara, CA: Praeger, 2012) 63 – 70.
91 started selling baggy: Wynne, “At 26, Designer Karl Kani.”
91 “My company and Cross Colours”: Rashad Benton, “Karl Kani Revisits His Revolutionary ‘Baggy Jean’ of the 1990s, Talks Tupac & Hip-Hop Style,” Billboard, October 31, 2017, https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/karl-kani-the-godfather-of-hip-hop-style-interview-8022022/.
92 “balding men hawking pleated khakis and argyle socks”: Lauren Goldstein, “Urban Wear Goes Suburban,” CNN Money, December 21, 1998, https://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/1998/12/21/252691/.
92 “ethnic” or “Black”: Romero, Free Stylin’, 188.
92 “urban”: Romero, Free Stylin’, 102.
92 “We didn’t like”: Jacob Gallagher, “Fubu: The Brand of LL Cool J and Nas Is Courting Generation Z,” The Wall Street Journal, February 22, 2021.
92 The clothes showed…big business: Goldstein, “Urban Wear Goes Suburban.”
93 “The first germination of urban”: Romero, Free Stylin’, 190 – 191.
Chapter 11
96 Stüssy is irrelevant: DeLeon, “The Oral History of Stüssy.”
96 Massimo “Mossimo” Giannulli…collection: Nancy Hass, “The Ups and Downs of Mossimo,” Los Angeles Magazine, Vol. 42, No. 6, June 1997.
95 Mossimo once said…fake bills: Bobby Kim, “The Man. The Myth. Mossimo.,” The Hundreds, October 31, 2016, https://thehundreds.com/blogs/bobby-hundreds/the-man-the-myth-giannulli-mossimo-interview/.
96 $23 million: William Kissel, “Stüssy and Mossimo Start Up New Lines to Spread Their Success,” December 18, 1992.
96 [Mossimo] essentially went: DeLeon, “The Oral History of Stüssy.”
96 “I’m sure there had”: Kim, “The Man…Mossimo.”
96 “worked to his advantage”: Kim, “The Man…Mossimo.”
97 “If shit didn’t sell”: DeLeon, “The Oral History of Stüssy.”
98 “A big part of”…“proper clothing line”: Chan-Baker, “Interview: Shawn Stüssy.”
98 “One of the things”: Frank Sinatra, interview by Hank Fortener, “Adventures in Family Business w. Stüssy Founder Frank Sinatra,” Typically Hazardous, 2016, SoundCloud audio, 1:11:03, https://soundcloud.com/hankfortener/adventures-in-family-business-w-stussy-founder-frank-sinatra/.
98 “There is no single person”: Beamish, “When the Bassline Thumps.”
100 “the saviors of retailing”: Amy M. Spindler, “Klein's CK Line Looks Hipness Right in the Eye,” New York Times, March 31, 1993.
100 dedicated Polo Sport store: Amy M. Spindler, “Lauren Moves Polo Into Its Own Quarters,” New York Times, September 17, 1993.
101 “a fashion accessory”: Marriott, “The Carhartt Jacket.”
101 “I knew I had”: DeLeon, “The Oral History of Stüssy.”
102 “I figured it was close”: James Jebbia, Supreme (New York: Rizzoli, 2010), 26
103 Prices ranged…: Corky Pollan, “It’s Niche Merchandising, Dude,” New York Magazine, May 16, 1994.
103 Vans Old Skools…jackets: Mary Tannen, “The Rules of Attraction,” Vogue, March 1995.
105 “I’d always loved”: Glenn O’Brien, “James Jebbia is Supreme,” Interview, February 18, 2009, https://www.interviewmagazine.com/fashion/james-jebbia-is-supreme/.
107 so-called Pictures Generation: Douglas Eklund, “The Pictures Generation,” The Metropolitan Museum of Art, October 1, 2004, https://www.metmuseum.org/essays/the-pictures-generation/.
108 Futura was ubiquitous: Meg Miller, “Happy 90th Birthday to Futura, the Modernist Typeface That is Literally Everywhere,” AIGA Eye on Design, October 3, 2017, https://eyeondesign.aiga.org/happy-90th-birthday-to-futura-the-modernist-typeface-that-is-literally-everywhere/.
108 A 1991 review: Roberta Smith, “Barbara Kruger’s Large-Scale Self-Expression,” New York Times, January 11, 1991.
108 “The store was swarmed”: Jebbia, Supreme, 27.
109 “Each building got rottweilers”: Tom Ianelli, “Full Bleed 10th Anniversary – An Interview With Alex Corporan,” Quartersnacks, February 3, 2022, https://quartersnacks.com/2022/02/full-bleed-10th-anniversary-an-interview-with-alex-corporan/.
109 A Love Supreme: Thomas Campbell, A Love Supreme. (1995, New York, Supreme)
109 which starred…: “Supreme - A Love Supreme,” SkateVideoSite, https://www.skatevideosite.com/videos/supreme-a-love-supreme/.
110 Larry Clark…background parts: Lynn Hirschberg, “What’s the Matter With Kids Today?,” New York Magazine, June 5, 1995.
111 a New Yorker profile: Jay McInerney, “Chloe’s Scene,” New Yorker, October 31, 1994.
111 $20 million: Brett Lang, “26 Years After ‘Kids’ Shocked the World, a New Documentary Examines the Lives It Shattered,” Variety, June 12, 2021, https://variety.com/2021/film/news/kids-new-documentary-larry-clark-harmony-korine-1234995023/.
111 a New York magazine: Paul Valery, “SoHo,” New York Magazine, December 4, 1995.
111 in Vogue: Tannen, “The Rules of Attraction.”
Chapter 13
113 $2 million: “Young Designers are Dressing SoBe,” Miami Herald, June 24, 1993.
114 joined a mysterious: Phillip J. Lavelle and Sandi Dolbee, “Across America, a Nomadic Band Quietly Recruits Brothers and Sisters for The ‘True’ Church,” San Diego Union-Tribune, November 10, 1997.
116 In the sixties…retail price: Dana Thomas, Deluxe: How Luxury Lost Its Luster (London: Penguin Books, 2008), 76.
117 “The Japanese crew knew”: Franklin, Subblueminal, 170 – 175.
119 “It all started with hip-hop”: Maryellen Gordon, “It’s Fitted Skaters vs. Baggy Ravers,” New York Times, January 18, 1998.
121 he sent a manufacturer: Postcard to Stephen Brents, October 14, 1998.
Chapter 14
128 $15 billion: Eric Demby, “Sneaker Stories: Following the Trail Of a Cultural Shift,” New York Times, September 28, 2003.
128 “At the beginning, HTM”: Matt Welty, “Hiroshi, Tinker, and Mark: How HTM Launched Nike Into the Future,” Complex, March 15, 2016, https://www.complex.com/sneakers/a/matt-welty/hiroshi-tinker-mark-htm-launched-nike-into-the-future/.
128 “HTM started with”: Gunner Park, “Here's Why Nike HTM Was the Best Collaboration Streetwear Has Ever Seen,” Highsnobiety, 2020, https://www.highsnobiety.com/p/nike-htm-history/.
129 Tier Zero…Co.JP: Ross Dwyer, “Nike's CO.JP Line Laid the Blueprint For Modern-Day Sneaker Collecting,” Hypebeast, August 7, 2020, https://hypebeast.com/2020/8/nike-jordan-brand-co-jp-history-story-info/.
130 like Pascal Spengemann’s: “Sneakers Keepers,” Hartford Courant, January 7, 2003.
131 “The Rebirth”: Richard A. Martin, “The Rebirth of the New York Sneakerhead,” New York Times, July 11, 2004.
131 “We were making money”: Tony Arcabascio, “The Suckhour Episode 19: New York Stories,” SUCKLORD CITY, June 24, 2016, YouTube video, 1:03:58, https://youtube.com/watch?v=2a2xyKROxD8/.
132 Alife teamed up…: “Jeffrey Deitch, Live the Art (New York: Rizzoli, 2014), 146.
132 “Best of New York”: New York Magazine, 2003, https://nymag.com/listings/stores/alife_rivington_club/index.html/.
132 “the original purveyors”: New York Times, 2006, https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2006/09/05/magazine/20060910_STYLE_SLIDESHOW_2.html/.
132 Kalman Ruttenstein…: Demby, “Sneaker Stories.”
132 On a tropical…the store: Arcabascio, “The Suckhour.”
133 56 break-ins: Michael Wilson, “Central Parts Of Brooklyn Saw the Worst Of Looting,” New York Times, August 21, 2003.
133 1,600: Sewell Chan, “Remembering the ’77 Blackout,” New York Times, July 9, 2007.
133 In downtown…hit the worst: Shaila K. Dewan, “With Lights Out, Looters Set Sights on Sneaker Shops,” New York Times, August 18, 2003.
133 “orderly, behaved”: Michael Wilson, “For Owners of Stores Hit by Looters, Low Crime Rate During Crisis Is No Comfort,” New York Times, August 17, 2003.
133 “We almost didn’t”: Arcabascio, “The Suckhour.”
Chapter Fifteen
135 $38 million: “40 Under 40, Class of 2001,” Crain’s New York, https://www.crainsnewyork.com/awards/camella-ehlke/.
137 $350 million: Rosemary Feitelberg, “FUBU Returns to Retail Through a Deal With Century 21,” WWD, February 28, 2019.
137 $140 million: Tracie Rozhon, “Phat Fashions Is Being Sold to Kellwood for $140 Million,” New York Times, January 9, 2004.)
137 $80 million: Veronica Chambers, “The Playa,” New York Times Magazine, September 22, 2002.
137 “changing fashion”: R. Rivera, “Tailor-Made” Vibe, March 2000.
138 “The key to that coolness”: Chuck Klosterman, The Nineties (New York: Penguin Press, 2022), 4.
141 The Low End Theory: A Tribe Called Quest. The Low End Theory. (Jive Records, 1991, CD)
141 on the cover: Paper Magazine, Summer 1991.
Chapter Sixteen
144 big, tall aggressive, and openly gay: Noah Johnson, “The Untold Story of IRAK, Downtown New York's Most Legendary Graffiti Crew,” GQ, August 30, 2021, https://www.gq.com/story/irak-legendary-new-york-graffiti-crew/.
147 “always on the verge”: Bruce LaBruce, “The Vice Guide to New York Graffiti,” Vice, November 30, 2001, https://www.vice.com/en/article/graf-v8n3/.
147 a New York cover: Ariel Levy, “Chasing Dash Snow,” New York Magazine, January 4, 2007.
148 The legal capacity…the space: Jeffry Deitch, interview by Ian Michna and Alex Coles, “The Story Behind Art Dealer Jeffrey Deitch’s Wooden Bowl,” Jenkem, January 4, 2023, YouTube video, 08:57, https://youtube.com/watch?v=9DmFQ_dg9XQ/.
148 Artwork from…:Holland Cotter, “Session the Bowl,” New York Times, January 10, 2003.
148 “A-Ron comes up”: Deitch “Deitch’s Wooden Bowl.”
148 Someone from…for sale: Aaron Bondaroff and Virgil Abloh, “My Life In T-Shirts, Act 2,” SNEEZE Magazine, N.50, Fall 2021.
149 “Everyone was jumping into”: Rodrigo Corral, Alex French, Howie Kahn, Sneakers (United States: Razorbill, 2017), 27.
150 Ryan became: “Ryan McGinley, 1977 –,” Whitney Museum of Art, https://whitney.org/artists/8432/.
150 As Ryan McGinness…: “Products Are the New Art: An Exhibition of the Work of Ryan McGinness,” Printed Matter, November 22, 2002.
151 “the cap-wearing”: Horacio Silva, “Exclusive Hipster Hangout: Everyone Welcome,” New York Times, November 2, 2006.
151 “one of those”: Rob Walker, “The Brand Underground,” New York Times Magazine, July 30, 2006.
151 “I’m so downtown”: Walker, “The Brand Underground.”
Chapter Seventeen
155: “Hype beast”: Gemma Kim, “How ‘Hypebeast’ Became Much More Than a Sneaker Blog,” Fashionista, December 11, 2015, https://fashionista.com/2015/12/kevin-ma-hypebeast/.
155 “I really loved”: Thom Bettridge, “Hypebeast vs. Highsnobiety: A Journey Toward the Heart of Content,” 032C, May 24, 2017, https://032c.com/magazine/hypebeast-vs-highsnobiety/.
156 “There were other”: Bettridge, “Hypebeast vs. Highsnobiety.”
157 A 2005 column: Adam L. Penenberg, “Like It or Not, Blogs Have Legs,” Wired, January 20, 2005, https://www.wired.com/2005/01/like-it-or-not-blogs-have-legs/.
157 fifty thousand members: Susan Carpenter, “Sole Searching,” Los Angeles Times, July 27, 2006.
157 “one ruthless thread”: Andrew Pulig, “The Wild Wild Web: The Chronicles of the HYPEBEAST Forums,” Hypebeast, August 12, 2014, https://hypebeast.com/2014/8/the-wild-wild-web-the-colorful-past-of-the-hypebeast-forums/.
158 Some retail employees: Tommie Battle, “How NikeTalk Changed the Sneaker Game,” Complex, February 25, 2014, https://www.complex.com/sneakers/a/tommie-battle/how-niketalk-changed-the-sneaker-game/.
158 “At some point,”: “Interview! > Wayne of Superfuture®! !,” The Brilliance!, https://www.thebrilliance.com/interviews/wayne-of-superfuture/.
159 By 2008, the network: “The Fall of ‘TRL’ and the Rise of Internet Video,” WNYC Soundcheck, November 12, 2008, https://www.npr.org/2008/11/12/96869060/the-fall-of-trl-and-the-rise-of-internet-video/.
160 “I think there is”: Bettridge, “Hypebeast vs. Highsnobiety.”
Chapter Eighteen
163 “After sitting around”: “Pigeon Dunk Interview,” Sneaker Freaker, August 1, 2008, https://www.sneakerfreaker.com/news/pigeon-dunk-intervew-snkr-frkr-vault/.
165 cheesy advertisements
167 right on the cover: Rachel Sklar and Leonard Greene, “Sneaker Riot,” New York Post, February 23, 2005.
164 The Nike Dunk…: “Presented by Nike SB: Fifteen Years of SB Dunk – Stories From the Inside Out,” Vice Sports, March 9, 2017, YouTube video, 21:37, https://youtube.com/watch?v=K4Jsmg2oYH4/.
165 “A lot of people,”: “Danny Supa,” 48 Blocks, 2010, https://48blocks.com/danny-supa/.
168 CBS News: “CBS News Nike + Staple Pigeon Dunk Riot,” Jeff Staple, June 1, 2008, YouTube video, 02:29, https://youtube.com/watch?v=ADIGNcQqTsc/.
168 other frantic Dunk releases: “Nike Dunk SB – 2005 Archive,” Sneaker News, https://sneakernews.com/nike-dunk-sb-2005-archive/.
168 a larger report: Tom Sykes, “Sneak Attack,” New York Post, March 3, 2005, https://nypost.com/2005/03/03/sneak-attack/.
168 “Guys go crazy”: Sykes, “Sneak Attack.”
Chapter Nineteen
169 “Superthug”: Noreaga. “Superthug.” Track 13 on N.O.R.E. Penalty Recordings, 1998, CD.
169 “He was afraid”: Jacob Arabo, “Pharrell and Jacob The Jeweler Interview,” JOOPITER, October 25, 2022, YouTube video, 08:42, https://youtube.com/watch?v=PjFKl7hRZbk&t/.
172 “I’ll never forget arguing”: Pharrell Williams, “Pharrell and Jacob The Jeweler Interview."
172 “Frontin’”: “Pharrell - Frontin' (Official HD Video) ft. Jay-Z,” Pharrell Williams, March 27, 2015, YouTube video, 04:09, https://youtube.com/watch?v=LOtkH5amC7s/.
172 “Most Influential”: Cam Wolf, “The Story of the Most Influential Music Video in Menswear History,” GQ, October 27, 2021, https://www.gq.com/story/pharrell-jay-z-frontin-video-style-influence/.
172 fired from Perry Ellis: Alexander Fury, “Marc Jacobs and the Appropriateness of Appropriation,” New York Times Style Magazine, September 21, 2016/
172 for collaborations…: Ruth La Ferla, “Front Row: Animating Vuitton,” New York Times, April 8, 2003.
172 “seem to conflict”: Cathy Horyn, “The Handbag Gets the Last Word,” New York Times, October 9, 2007.
173 “very happy”: Ariel Levy, “Enchanted,” New Yorker, August 27, 2008.
173 Marc met Pharrell…: Pharrell Williams, “Pharrell Shows Off His Louis Vuitton SS24 Collection Essentials,” GQ, August 15, 2023, YouTube video, 07:13, https://youtube.com/watch?v=aneXOvDdDz4/.
173 “Vuitton’s latest co-operation”: Suzy Menkes, “Louis Vuitton: Blinded With Commerce,” New York Times, October 12, 2004.
175 they opened…build-out: Mike Albo, “Charge That Tee on My Platinum,” New York Times, December 6, 2007.
176 By 2007…restructure: Kelly Wetherille, “Nigo Opens Up About Bape,” WWD, February 7, 2011.
177 “I spent twenty”: Wetherille, “Nigo Opens Up.”
177 projecting $30 million: David Lipke, “New Strategy for Billionaire Boys Club,” WWD, June 6, 2013,
Chapter Twenty
179 caused a stir…picked it up: Nicholas Tershay and Hunter Muraira, “Nike SB | Diamond Dunk | Documentary,” Nike Skateboarding, November 7, 2018, YouTube video, 11:03, https://youtube.com/watch?v=4LVtVlhJWOw/.
179 “I grew up as”: Kari Hamanaka, “Nick Tershay, Diamond in the Rough,” WWD, August 24, 2018.
179 sponsored by Think: Nicholas Tershay, “Nicky Diamonds: Lessons on Building a Global Brand, Hot Sauce, Footwear, Fairfax Legacy,” First Smoke of the Day, September 4, 2023, YouTube video, 3:01:42, https://youtube.com/watch?v=e-OaBJIP7BA/.
180 The first two stores…: Nicholas Tershay, interview by Peter Gibaldi, “Nicky Diamonds,” The Premium Pete Show, 2019, SoundCloud audio, 1:44:02, https://soundcloud.com/thepremiumpeteshow/nicky-diamonds/.
180 where he also worked: Tershay, “Lessons on Building.”
180 a U-Haul trailer: Tershay, “Lessons on Building.”
180 No office…: Tershay, “Nicky Diamonds.”
183 $40 million: “Karmaloop Founder Keeps Ear to Street to Sell Cool Clothes,” ABC News, October 12, 2008, https://abcnews.go.com/Business/story?id=6017941&page=1/.
183: “feel the first”: Michael J. Wolf, The Entertainment Economy: How Mega-Media Forces Are Transforming Our Lives (New York: Crown Currency, 1999).
183 named one: “Young Millionaires,” Entrepreneur, https://www.entrepreneur.com/business-news/young-millionaires/196304/.
183 “What bugged”: Matt Welty, “How the 'Tiffany' Dunk Became One of the Most Hyped Sneakers Ever,” Complex, August 29, 2018, https://www.complex.com/sneakers/a/matt-welty/nicky-diamonds-nike-sb-tiffany-dunk-interview/.
184 “a cease and desist” : Tershay, “Premium Pete: Nicky Diamonds.”
184 he discovered…in stock: Tershay, “Premium Pete: Nicky Diamonds.”
184 the “400” block: Andrew Asch, “Streetwear Demand Growing,” California Apparel News, June 5, 2014, https://www.apparelnews.net/news/2014/jun/05/streetwear-demand-growing-las-fairfax-boulevard/.
185 “I would just sit”: Nicholas Tershay, “Nicky Diamonds / Diamond Supply Co / Behind The Seams / Standard Issue Tees / Episode 11,” Standard Issue, June 19, 2023, YouTube video, 1:22:29, https://youtube.com/watch?v=lLWLnwyqzPg/.
185: $4 million: Tershay, “Premium Pete: Nicky Diamonds.”
186 “Those forums were”: Ashleigh Kane, “How a Local Skate Company Became Hip Hop’s Go-to Brand,” Dazed, February 2, 2017, https://www.dazeddigital.com/artsandculture/article/34530/1/how-cult-local-skate-company-diamond-supply-co-became-hip-hops-go-to-brand/.
185 “This was around”: “Meet Corey Populus of Circulate in Mid City,” VoyageLA, August 26, 2019, https://voyagela.com/interview/meet-corey-populus-circulate-mid-city/.
186 That year…the demand”: Tershay, “Premium Pete: Nicky Diamonds.”
186 $15 million: Tershay, “Premium Pete: Nicky Diamonds.”
Chapter Twenty-One
188 $20 million: Augie Galan LinkedIn, https://www.linkedin.com/in/agustin-galan-3b1832162/.
191 Supreme magazine: Jebbia, Supreme, 206 – 207.
192 “gross and offensive”: Jon Caramanica, “Angry Rhymes, Dirty Mouth, Goofy Kid,” New York Times, May 4, 2011.
192 “Yonkers,”: Tyler, the Creator. “Yonkers.” Track 2 on Goblin. XL Recordings, 2011, CD.
192 “I’ve been wearing”: Caroline McCloskey, “What Do Tyler, the Creator and Glenn O'Brien Have in Common?,” GQ, March 18, 2012, https://www.gq.com/story/tyler-the-creator-glenn-obrien-supreme-clothes-gq-style-bible-april-2012-photos/.
192 “There’s this site”: Elliott Wilson, “Elliott Wilson Interviews Tyler, the Creator,” Respect, July 11, 2011, https://respect-mag.com/2011/07/respect-online-exclusive-fly-or-die-elliott-wilson-interviews-tyler-the-creator-2/.
196 “We made the rules”: Jebbia, Supreme, 20.
Chapter Twenty-Two
201 A new world…: Karizza Sanchez, “How Fairfax Became the Mecca of Streetwear: An Oral History,” Complex, February 25, 2019, https://www.complex.com/style/a/karizza-sanchez/fairfax-avenue-mecca-of-streetwear/.
203 a profile: Nathan Olivarez-Giles, "Hip Apparel Brand Wants to Sell without Selling Out,” Los Angeles Times, May 26, 2009.
Chapter Twenty-Three
205 “Once you hit”: Daymond John The Brand Within: The Power of Branding from Birth to the Boardroom (New York: Display of Power Pub Inc., 2010)
211 New York magazine: David Shapiro, “Supreme’s New Look,” New York Magazine, April 26, 2013.
211 California Apparel News: Sarah Wolfson, “Supreme Sues Married to the Mob,” California Apparel News, May 3, 2013, https://www.apparelnews.net/news/2013/may/03/supreme-sues-married-mob/.
211 She wrote: Hypebeast, May 1, 2013, https://hypebeast.com/2013/5/supreme-sues-married-to-the-mob-for-10-million-over-supreme-bitch-t-shirt/.
212 “I can’t help”: Shapiro, “Supreme’s New Look.”
212 her counterclaim: Chapter 4 Corp. D/BA/Supreme against Leah C. McSweeney and LCM Productions, Inc., Answer and Counterclaim, filed on April 22, 2013, https://www.scribd.com/doc/138886479/SUPREME-BITCH-LAWSUIT/.
213 “What a ridiculous”: Foster Kamer, “Barbara Kruger Responds to Supreme's Lawsuit: 'A Ridiculous Clusterf**k of Totally Uncool Jokers’,” Complex, May 2, 2013, https://www.complex.com/style/a/foster-kamer/barbara-kruger-responds-to-supremes-lawsuit-a-ridiculous-clusterfk-of-totally-uncool-jokers/.
Chapter Twenty-Four
217 432F Clothing Show: David Wharton, “Established O.C. Surfwear Firms Show Among the Hyper-Hip as Underground Designers Hope to Impress,” Los Angeles Times, September 14, 1995.
218 235,000 square feet: “Agenda: Filling Up Empty Space,” California Apparel News, November 18, 2011, https://www.apparelnews.net/news/2011/nov/18/agenda-filling-up-empty-space/.
Chapter Twenty-Five
221 updated Diamond’s…: TK, TK
221 Brock Korsan: Rahim Attarzadeh, “ West Coast. Brock Korsan,” System, Issue 22, Spring Summer 2024.
222 Ben Baller: Teofilo Killip, “Ben Baller Dips Diamond Supply Co. Logos in Gold for a New Collaboration,” Complex, June 10, 2013, https://www.complex.com/style/a/teofilo-killip/ben-baller-x-diamond-supply-co-jewelry-collaboration/.
222 $15 milllion…$50 million: Tershay, “Premium Pete: Nicky Diamonds.”
223: Zumiez 100K…: Blair Alley, “Zumiez 100K 2012,” Transworld Skateboarding, January 12, 2012, https://www.skateboarding.com/news/zumiez-100k-2012/.
223 Dodge Charger: Sydney Mintle, “Zumiez Wraps Another Epic 100k Event,” Sydney Loves Fashion, January 13, 2012, https://www.sydneylovesfashion.com/2012/01/zumiez-wraps-another-epic-100k-event.html/.
224 “Smooth Operator”: Sade. “Smooth Operator.” Track 1 from Diamond Life. Epic, 1984, LP.
224 I’m going to live: Nicolas Tershay, interview by Gilbert Anthony Milam Jr. aka Berner, “Building Diamond Brands with Nicky Diamonds,” Berner’s Round Table, June 3, 2019, SoundCloud audio, 41:51, https://soundcloud.com/bernersroundtable/building-diamond-brands-with-nicky-diamonds-ep8/.
224 he woke up…: Tershay, “Premium Pete: Nicky Diamonds.”
225 Nick bought: Kristie Bertucci, “Diamond Life” DUB Magazine, Issue 86, May 2014.
225 $7 million: Lisa Johnson Mandell, “Diamond Supply’s Nick Tershay Wants to Sell His Sparkling L.A. Home,” Realtor.com, September 11, 2017, https://www.realtor.com/news/celebrity-real-estate/nick-tershay-wants-to-sell-his-la-home/.
225: filled it with: Nicholas Tershay Instagram
226 “The urban consumer”: “PacSun to Close demo,” California Apparel News, January 11, 2008, https://www.apparelnews.net/news/2008/jan/11/pacsun-to-close-demo/.
226 over five hundred: “Zumiez Inc. Reports July 2014 Sales Results,” Marketwired, August 6, 2014, https://finance.yahoo.com/news/zumiez-inc-reports-july-2014-200000802.html/.
226 nearly one thousand: “Pacific Sunwear of California, Inc Annual Report 2014,” https://www.annualreports.co.uk/HostedData/AnnualReportArchive/p/NASDAQ_PSUN_2014.pdf/
227 Dom Pérignon Luminous: Tershay, “Building Diamond Brands.”
227 “I don’t think we”: Sanchez, “Fairfax: An Oral History.”
228: $100 million: Tershay, “Premium Pete: Nicky Diamonds.”
Chapter Twenty-Six
233 famously recorded: Ernest Baker, “Kanye West and Jay-Z Rent Out Mercer Hotel Floor to Record 'Watch The Throne’,” Complex, February 10, 2011, https://www.complex.com/music/a/ernest-baker/kanye-west-jay-z-mercer-hotel/.
233 six-story…lobby: Suzy Menkes, “Loft Life at SoHo's Mercer : Zen and the Art Of Hotel Serenity,” New York Times, March 31, 1998.
253 Kanye’s first cover: “Kanye Rocks Our Men of the Year Issue,” GQ, December 2007.
236 GQ cover: Zach Baron, “Kanye West: A Brand-New Ye,” GQ, July 20, 2014, https://www.gq.com/story/kanye-west/.
236 DONDA: Clover Hope, “Kanye Has a Dream: Insider His Creative Agency DONDA,” Vibe, August 19, 2013, https://www.vibe.com/music/music-news/kanye-west-has-dream-inside-creative-agency-donda-174947/.
237 Steve Jobs: Jathan Sadowski, “Kanye West Really Is Like Steve Jobs,” Slate, June 13, 2013, https://slate.com/culture/2013/06/kanye-west-and-steve-jobs-more-similar-than-you-think.html/.
237 Mascotte: Ian Stonebrook, “The History of Kanye West’s Mascotte Clothing Line,” Boardroom, August 2, 2022, https://boardroom.tv/kanye-west-mascotte-clothing-line/.
237 Pastelle: Karizza Sanchez and David Cabrera, “The Untold Story of Pastelle, Kanye West's First Clothing Line,” Complex, July 10, 2018, https://www.complex.com/style/a/karizza-sanchez/kanye-west-pastelle-first-clothing-line-untold-story/.
237 “It was the equivalent”: “Here’s Proof That Kanye Can’t Cut It on the Catwalk,” Guardian, October 3, 2011, https://www.theguardian.com/music/2011/oct/03/kanye-west-fashion-designer-paris/.
237 “Ask someone else.”: Eric Wilson, “Kanye West, Designer (Yawn),” New York Times, October 5, 2011.
238 : the sneaker space…:Ian Hundiak, “A History of Kanye West’s Sneaker Collabs,” Sneaker News, February 11, 2014, https://sneakernews.com/2014/02/10/kanye-west-sneaker-history/.
238 $1.8 million: Leah Dolan, “Kanye West’s Yeezys Just Sold for a Record-Breaking $1.8 Million,” CNN, April 26, 2021, https://www.cnn.com/style/article/kanye-west-yeezy-sothebys-sale-1-8-million/.
238 $10 million: Emma Thomasson, “Adidas Strikes New Deal with Kanye West in U.S. Market Push,” Reuters, June 29, 2016, https://www.reuters.com/article/business/adidas-strikes-new-deal-with-kanye-west-in-us-market-push-idUSKCN0ZF12O/.
238 $500,000…“I don’t know”: Jennie Bell, “The 10 Best Quotes From Kanye West’s Shoe of the Year Acceptance Speech,” WWD, December 3, 2015.
239: The fashion show…darkness: “Kanye West - Yeezy Season 1 (2015),” Kanye West Yeezy Videos, June 14, 2020, YouTube video, 12:31, https://youtube.com/watch?v=Sm6k9zMGKw0/.
239 shot to the: Emily Manning, “Kanye West X Adidas Originals Beat Chanel as Most Viewed Show of the Season,” i-D, March 19, 2015, https://i-d.co/article/kanye-west-x-adidas-originals-beat-chanel-as-most-viewed-show-of-the-season/.
240 lines formed…wearing: Karizza Sanchez, “Kanye West’s Yeezy Collection Is Selling Like Crazy,” Business Insider, November 6, 2015, https://www.businessinsider.com/how-kanye-wests-yeezy-season-1-performed-2015-11/.
240 9,000: Ben Rooney, “Kanye’s Yeezy Sneakers Sell Out,” CNN Money, February 17, 2015, https://money.cnn.com/2015/02/16/news/kanye-west-yeezy-adidas/index.html/.
240 gave the sneaker: Jennie Bell, “FN Crowns Kanye West ‘King Of Shoes’ For Yeezy Boost,” WWD, October 22, 2015.
240 Zara: Marc Bain, “Zara’s ‘Streetwise Collection’ Is an Impressively Complete Rip-off of Kanye West’s Yeezy Line,” Quartz, May 2016, https://qz.com/677770/zaras-streetwise-collection-is-an-impressively-complete-rip-off-of-kanye-wests-yeezy-line/.
241 “Everybody wants”: Sanchez, “Selling Like Crazy.”
Chapter Twenty-Seven
244 “Our sales lost footing”: Bobby Kim, This Is Not a T-Shirt: A Brand, a Culture, a Community—a Life in Streetwear (New York: MCD, 2019), 249.
245 Kanye and Kim: Jackson Ray, “Analyzing Anti Social Social Club: The Neek Lurk Experience,” Fashion Moves Forward, November 19, 2016, https://fashionmovesforward.com/the-latest/2016/11/analyzing-anti-social-social-club-the-neek-lurk-experience/.
246 Hashtag Menswear: Alexander Aciman, “Succumbing to the Tyranny of #menswear,” Wall Street Journal, July 23, 2013.
246 Four Pins: Skylar Bergl, Jon Moy, Lawerence Schlossman, “Our Last Post Ever: The Four Pins Staff Says Farewell,” Complex/Four Pins, January 15, 2016, https://www.complex.com/style/a/skylar-bergl/final-four-pins-staff-eulogies/.
251 Daniel Patrick…: Obi Anyanwu, “Daniel Patrick Set to Open First NYC Store in SoHo,” Fashion Network, November 29, 2016, https://us.fashionnetwork.com/news/Daniel-patrick-set-to-open-first-nyc-store-in-soho,749390.html/.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
253 He sat with…: Virgil Abloh, “Chicago/Bucktown Tour,” Midwesterngoodness, July 28, 2006, YouTube video, 10:48, https://\youtube.com/watch?v=i6B8S9gvRac/.
254 downtown brands like: Virgil Abloh Instagram, January 1, 2015
254 accolades…: Virgil Abloh, Virgil Abloh: Figures of Speech, Chicago: MCA Chicago/ New York: Prestel Books, 2019.
254 debut Pyrex Vision collection: Alec Banks, “PYREX VISION 2013 Spring/Summer ‘Youth Always Wins’ Collection,” Hypebeast, December 12, 2012, https://hypebeast.com/2012/12/pyrex-vision-2013-spring-summer-youth-always-wins-collection/.
255 “Dipset Anthem”: The Diplomats. “Dipset Anthem.” Track 10 from Diplomatic Immunity. Island Def Jam, 2003, CD.
255 “At the time,”: Abloh, Figures of Speech.
256 micro-scene: Emilia Petrarca, “Meet You on the Corner of Hype and Mercer,” New York Magazine, January 24, 2018.
256 “the spirit of”: Jon Caramanica, “Building Blocks All in a Row,” New York Times, May 1, 2013.
256 the blog: Jian DeLeon, “No One Pyrex Should Have All Those Rugby Flannels,” Complex/Four Pins, January 4, 2013, https://www.complex.com/style/a/jiand/no-one-pyrex-should-have-all-those-rugby-flannels/.
257 Been Trill: Nick Matthies, “Remembering Been Trill,” StockX, March 28, 2019, https://stockx.com/news/been-trill-virgil-abloh-matthew-williams-heron-preston/.
257 “I think everybody”: Matthew Williams, “#BEENTRILL# (2012),” Grailed, July 26, 2018, https://www.grailed.com/drycleanonly/matthew-williams-35-1/.
258 At a Givenchy…: Thom Bettridge, “Group Chat: The Oral History of Virgil Abloh,” GQ Style, March 4, 2019, https://www.gq.com/story/virgil-abloh-cover-story-spring-2019/.
258 This isn’t a: Bettridge, “Group Chat.”
258 single American finalist: “Finalist 2015 Edition: Off-White by Virgil Abloh,” LVMH Prize, 2015, https://www.lvmhprize.com/designer/off-white-co-virgil-abloh/.
258 “it was streetwear”: Abloh, Figures of Speech.
259 250 dates: Abloh, Figures of Speech.
259 “This first thing”: Bettridge, “Group Chat.”
259 “Virgil was just”: Bettridge, “Group Chat.”
259 W magazine: Diane Solway, “Virgil Abloh and His Army of Disruptors: How He Became the King of Social Media Superinfluencers,” W Magazine, April 20, 2017, https://www.wmagazine.com/story/virgil-abloh-off-white-kanye-west-raf-simons.
260 Clout Corridor: Petrarca, “Corner of Hype and Mercer.”
260 WWD reported: Joelle Diderich, “Virgil Abloh Said Among Candidates for Givenchy Post,” WWD, February 6, 2017.
261 famous friends…: Jake Woolf, “Off-White x Nike Is the Official Sneaker of Celebrities Everywhere,” GQ, August 30, 2017, https://www.gq.com/story/off-white-nike-sneaker-of-celebrities-everywhere/.
261 special rug: Abloh, Figures of Speech.
262 Kendall Jenner: Brooke Bobb, “Watch Kendall Jenner Get Ready for the 2018 Met Gala,” Vogue, May 8, 2018, https://www.vogue.com/article/kendall-jenner-virgil-abloh-off-white-met-gala-2018/.
262 Virgil attended…: “Virgil Abloh Previews His First Collection for LV at the Met Gala,” Another Man, May 8, 2018, https://www.anothermanmag.com/style-grooming/10320/virgil-abloh-previews-his-first-collection-for-lv-at-the-met-gala/.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
263: tour merchandise: “Yeezus Merch,” Joe Perez, https://www.joerperez.com/yeezus-merch/.
265 “Everyone coming”: Jerry Lorenzo, interview by Kerwin Frost, “Kerwin Frost Talks to Jerry Lorenzo,” Kerwin Frost, April 2, 2021, YouTube video, 1:26:15, https://youtube.com/watch?v=RV8iAxQJE0s/.
266 Jerry built…: Erika Houle, “Jerry Lorenzo Is in a League of His Own,” SSENSE, November 8, 2019, https://www.ssense.com/en-us/editorial/fashion/jerry-lorenzo-is-in-a-league-of-his-own/.
267 Public School: William Van Meter, “The Point Men for Public School,” New York Times, January 7, 2014.
267 Ronnie Fieg: Jake Woolf, “How Kith's Ronnie Fieg Became the King of Sneakers in 2016,” GQ, December 17, 2016, https://www.gq.com/story/kith-ronnie-fieg-sneakers-stores-interview/.
267 “the man who”: “Meet the Man Who Made Sweatpants High Fashion: John Elliot,” GQ, September 23, 2015, YouTube video, 03:06, https://youtube.com/watch?v=eh7-qUdsN6o/.
268 “I have more”, Jian Deleon, “Jerry Lorenzo Used Religion to Sell Bieber Concert Tees,” The Cut, November 8, 2016, https://www.thecut.com/2016/11/what-inspires-jerry-lorenzos-fear-of-god-label.html/.
Chapter Thirty
271 names in fashion…: Vanessa Friedman, “Fashion Gives Its Top Award to a Man Who Says He Isn’t a Designer,” New York Times, June 5, 2018.
271 “We now live”: Trevor Noah, “2018 CFDA Fashion Awards: Supreme Wins Menswear Designer of the Year Award,” CDFA, June 5, 2018, YouTube video, 01:43, https://youtube.com/watch?v=A2F-19gbC5g/.
272 “Thank you,”: James Jebbia, “Supreme Wins,” CDFA.
272 “the biggest upset”: Friedman, “Fashion Gives Its Top Award.”
272 “A lot of people”: O’Brien, “James Jebbia is Supreme.”
273 WWD reported: Evan Clark, “Louis Vuitton x Supreme: A 100M Euro Boost for Skate Brand’s Luxe Cred,” WWD, October 13, 2017.
273 “one of the most”: Jake Woolf, “Supreme x Louis Vuitton: See Every Piece from the Game-changing Collaboration,” GQ, June 29, 2017, https://www.gq.com/gallery/supreme-louis-vuitton-full-collection-keepall-jacket-sneakers/.
273 “It was like”: Emily Jensen, “The Complete Louis Vuitton x Supreme Retrospective,” JingDaily, December 2, 2021, https://jingdaily.com/posts/louis-vuitton-x-supreme-2021-history-retrospective-value/.
273 “I think it opened”: Evan Clark, Aria Hughes, “Carlyle Said to Buy Supreme Stake,” WWD, October 6, 2017.
272 Supreme sold…: Evan Clark, Aria Hughes, “A Supreme Deal: $1B Valuation From Carlyle,” WWD, October 9, 2017.
274 New York: Mead, “The Brit Pack.”
274 modern furniture: Julia Chaplin, “Generation Wallpaper,” New York Times, September 6, 1998.
274 vintage skate T-shirts: Kate Betts, “The Whoosh of What You’ll Be Wearing,” New York Times, May 5, 2002.
274 rebirth: Martin, “The Rebirth.”
275: above his desk: Gary Warnett, “James Jebbia,” Hypebeast, Issue 5, 2013.
275 told Complex: Lei Takanashi, “Supreme Team: The Story Behind the Brand's Original Design Crew,” Complex, April 1, 2020, https://www.complex.com/style/a/lei-takanashi/how-supreme-brand-came-to-be/.
277 Supremacist: David Shapiro Supremacist (New York: Tyrant Books, 2016)
278 New Yorker: David Shapiro, “Flipping Supreme,” New Yorker, November 5, 2013, https://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/flipping-supreme/.
278 in one interview: Amos Barshad, “Do You Love Supreme More Than This Man?,” The Fader, June 20, 2016, https://www.thefader.com/2016/06/20/david-shapiro-supreme-book-interview/.
279 Fuck Bush stickers: Jebbia, Supreme, 243.
Chapter Thirty-One
281 Inside a massive…: “Men’s Fall-Winter 2019 Show | Behind the Scenes,” Louis Vuitton, July 30, 2019, YouTube video, 09:24, https://youtube.com/watch?v=pYt8hMp2IrM/.
282 walked over: Lauren Alexis Fisher, “Virgil Abloh and Kanye West Cried Together At The End of Abloh’s First Louis Vuitton Men's Show,” Harper’s Bazar, June 21, 2018, https://www.harpersbazaar.com/fashion/fashion-week/a21749169/kanye-west-virgil-abloh-louis-vuitton-show/.
283 “The day I”: Virgil Abloh Instagram, January 17, 2019.
283 $300,000: “Futura, Untitled, 1980,” Artsy, https://www.artsy.net/auction-result/7039589/.
284 Rizzoli monograph: Futura, Futura: The Artist’s Monograph (New York, Rizzoli, 2020), 99.
284 “Virgil has”: Abloh, Figures of Speech.
284 told the New Yorker: Doreen St. Félix, “Virgil Abloh, Menswear’s Biggest Star,” New Yorker, March 11, 2019.
284 “Margiela of its time”: “Virgil Abloh of Off-White Talks Streetwear, High Fashion, Creativity, and Kanye West,” GQ, September 24, 2015, https://www.gq.com/video/watch/virgil-abloh-kanye-off-white-video-ian-connor-luka-sabbat/.
284 shouting out…: Virgil Abloh Instagram, January 1, 2015.
284 “I have teams”: Thom Bettridge and Virgil Abloh, “The People vs. Young Thug,” Interview, December 10, 2018, https://www.interviewmagazine.com/music/the-people-vs-young-thug-virgil-abloh/.
285 Vogue noted: Nick Remsen, “Heron Preston: Fall 2019 Menswear,” Vogue, January 15, 2019, https://www.vogue.com/fashion-shows/fall-2019-menswear/heron-preston/.
285 called Matthew: Matthew Schneier, “They Been Trill. Now the Rest of the World Is, Too.,” New York Times, January 16, 2019.
286 “Fashion can’t afford”: Guy Trebay, “At Louis Vuitton, Michael Jackson Forever,” New York Times, January 18, 2019.
287 “Tom Ford is not”: Suzy Menkes, “It’s the Team, Not the Talent,” New York Times, January 27, 2000.
287 “gay, sneaker-wearing”: Zoë Heller, “Jacob’s Ladder,” New Yorker, September 14, 1997.
287 3 percent rule…: Virgil Abloh, The Incidents: Insert Complicated Title Here (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Graduate School of Design / Sternberg Press, 2018).
287 a scolding: Diet Prada Instagram, August 27, 2018.
288 “His work”: St. Félix, “Menswear’s Biggest Star.”
288 “It’s very clear”: Ezra Marcus, “Belgian Designer Accuses Virgil Abloh of Copying. Again.,” New York Times, August 13, 2020.
288 called Virgil unoriginal: Noah Johnson, “Raf Simons on Life in New York, Designing Under Trump, and the New Generation of Designers Who Look Up To Him,” GQ, January 27, 2017, https://www.gq.com/story/raf-simons-exclusive-interview/.
288 “With the flick”: Bondaroff and Abloh, “My Life In T-Shirts.”
289 “I don’t come from”: Solway, “Virgil Abloh and His Army.”
289 “It’s this idea”: St. Félix, “Menswear’s Biggest Star.”
289 Duchamp biography: Calvin Tomkins, Duchamp: A Biography (New York: Henry Holt, 1996)
289 “The readymades defied”: Calvin Tomkins, “The Confident Anxiety of Rashid Johnson,” New Yorker, December 9, 2024.
289: In June 2019…: “Virgil Abloh: ‘Figures of Speech’,” MCA Chicago, https://mcachicago.org/exhibitions/2019/virgil-abloh/.
290 “Don’t Buy”: Evan Moffitt, “Don’t Buy What Virgil Abloh Is Selling,” Frieze, September 2019.
290 $675 million: Chantal Fernandez, “Why Farfetch Bought New Guards Group,” Business of Fashion, August 8, 2019.
290 “exceptional growth”: Mario Abad, “LVMH Revenues Surge Again Thanks To 'Exceptional' Performances At Louis Vuitton And Dior,” Forbes, April 10, 2019.
290 “For so long”: Dan Hyman, “Virgil Abloh Has Designs on High Culture,” New York Times, May 23, 2019.
Chapter Thirty-Two
291 “The logo future-proofed”: Gary Warnett, “Knowledge Reigns Supreme,” GWARIZM, May 14, 2013, https://garywarnett.wordpress.com/2013/05/14/knowledge-reigns-supreme/.
292 “I’m not doing”: Shawn McCreesh and Nina Ruggiero, “Supreme X Nike Air Foamposite 1 Sale Shut down by NYPD Due to ‘Concern for Public Safety’,” AMNY, April 4, 2014, https://www.amny.com/news/supreme-x-nike-air-foamposite-1-sale-shut-down-by-nypd-due-to-concern-for-public-safety-1-7595289/.
293 Streetwear Impact Report: “Streetwear: The New Exclusivity,” Strategy&, https://www.strategyand.pwc.com/de/en/industries/consumer-markets/streetwear/streetwear-the-new-exclusivity.pdf/.
293 all-time high: Liz Warren, “Streetwear Resale Show Unstoppable Growth, New Report Finds,” Sourcing Journal, August 15, 2019, https://sourcingjournal.com/denim/denim-business/the-realreal-luxury-resale-report-streetwear-164702/.
294 twenty-one times: Maura Brannigan: “So, You Want to Shop Resale in 2020?,” Fashionista, February 13, 2020, https://fashionista.com/2020/02/how-to-buy-shop-resale-secondhand-clothes/.
294 Influence: Dr. Robert Cialdini, Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion (New York: William Morrow and Company, 1984).
294 “sneaker porn”… “sneakers.”: Shoshy Ciment, “Insider SNKRS: How a Group of Nike Employees Went 'Unconventional' to Build a Chart-Topping App That Would Transform Sneaker Culture,” Business Insider, November 23, 2020.
294 $750 million: Ciment, “Insider SNKRS.”
294 $39.1 billion: Ciment, “Insider SNKRS.”
294 “We still supply”: Marc Bain, “Nike’s App for Sneakerheads Is Fueling Its Digital Business,” Quartz, July 20, 2022, https://qz.com/quartzy/1655111/nikes-snkrs-app-is-fueling-its-digital-business/.
295 9.8 million…purchase requests: Lauren Schwartzberg, “The Botmakers Who Rule the Obsessive World of Streetwear,” Wired, May 25, 2017, https://www.wired.com/2017/05/using-bots-to-buy-supreme-limited-edition-streetwear/.
295 Venture capitalists: Kim Bhasin, “Why Is Silicon Valley Pouring Millions of Dollars Into Old Clothes?,” Bloomberg, October 28, 2015.
295 over $1 billion: Annachiara Biondi, “Gen Z, Women and Louis Vuitton Drive StockX to $1 billion in Transactions,” Vogue Business, January 17, 2020.
295 “The internet and eBay”: Erin Griffith, “Buy Low-Tops, Sell High-Tops: StockX Sneaker Exchange Is Worth $1 Billion,” New York Times, June 26, 2019.
296 “There are more people”: Don Thompson, The $12 Million Stuffed Shark: The Curious Economics of Contemporary Art (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 2008), 239.
297 “We met through Supreme,”: Kari Hamanaka, “Supreme Skate Deck Enthusiast Celebrates Collection With L.A. Exhibit,” WWD, November 28, 2018.
297: $800,000: Robert Frank, “Skateboard Deck Collection Sells for a Record $800,000,” CNBC, January 29, 2019, https://www.cnbc.com/2019/01/29/skateboard-deck-collection-sells-for-a-record-800000.html/.
297 “complete archive”: Jessie Yeung, “253 Supreme T-shirts Expected to Sell for $2M in Christie’s Auction,” CNN, November 24, 2020, https://www.cnn.com/style/article/supreme-collection-auction-intl-hnk-scli/.
298 $2.1 billion: “Carlyle to Flip Streetwear Icon Supreme in $2.1B Deal,” Pitchbook, November 10, 2020.
Chapter Thirty-Three
300 “Brendon was disillusioned”: Judy D’Mello, “The Warp and Weft of Noah,” East Hampton Star, March 17, 2022, https://www.easthamptonstar.com/arts/2022317/warp-and-weft-noah/.
300 60 percent: Tatiana Schlossberg, “How Fast Fashion Is Destroying the Planet,” New York Times, September 3, 2019.
301 Burberry revealed: Renae Reints, “Burberry Burned $37 Million Worth of Products to Protect Its Brand,” Fortune, July 19, 2018, https://fortune.com/2018/07/19/burberry-burns-millions/.
301 ninety-two million: Martina Igini, “10 Concerning Fast Fashion Waste Statistics,” Earth.org, August 21 2023, https://earth.org/statistics-about-fast-fashion-waste/.
301 “fashion has been”: Dana Thomas, Fashionopolis: The Price of Fast Fashion and the Future of Clothes (New York: Penguin Press, 2019) 4 – 5.
302 $300,000: Sam Schube, “How a Menswear Brand Stays Afloat—and Stays Ethical—Through a Pandemic and Protest,” GQ, June 8, 2020, https://www.gq.com/story/noah-under-coronavirus-protests/.
303 “I didn’t know”: M.C. Nanda, “Aimé Leon Dore’s Teddy Santis on New Balance and the Future of Menswear,” Business of Fashion, February 23, 2022.
303 GQ: Jake Woolf, “Meet Aimé Leon Dore, New York's Coolest Young Label,” GQ, December 15, 2014, https://www.gq.com/story/exclusive-up-and-coming-label-aim-leon-dore-takes-to-harlem-for-new-lookbook/.
303 Vogue: Emily Farra, “How Aimé Leon Dore Became the Coolest Store in Nolita,” Vogue, May 14, 2019, https://www.vogue.com/article/aime-leon-dore-new-york-store/.
303 An early pop-up: “ALD Concept Shop & Photo Exhibit,”Aimé Leon Dore, November 11, 2016, https://www.aimeleondore.com/blogs/news/ald-concept-shop-photo-exhibit/.
304 “With us,”:Thom Bettridge, “The New York We Fuck With,” SSENSE, https://www.ssense.com/en-us/editorial/fashion/the-new-york-we-fuck-with/.
305 “We need to”: Jacob Gallagher, “J.Crew Is Naming Former Supreme Designer to ‘Disrupt’ Brand,” Wall Street Journal, May 17, 2021.
Chapter Thirty-Four
309 The workshop…: Peter Saltsman, “At Louis Vuitton’s Footwear Atelier in Italy, an Extreme Commitment to Craftsmanship,” Sharp Magazine, March 24, 2020, https://sharpmagazine.com/2020/03/24/at-louis-vuittons-footwear-atelier-in-italy-an-extreme-commitment-to-craftsmanship/.
309 “It’s completely”: Anders Christian Madsen, “Feel the Air Force – Virgil Abloh’s Louis Vuitton x Nike collaboration lands in New York,” Financial Times, May 20, 2022, https://www.ft.com/content/ac6f8000-a7a1-4dfe-ad55-7fb526f10b4b/.
310 one local buyer…: Jeff Barker, “How Baltimore Might Have Saved the Air Force 1 Sneaker,” Baltimore Sun, October 3, 2017.
310 “People want to”: Fred Bierman, “The Nike Air Force 1 Sneaker Turns 25 Years Old,” New York Times, December 23, 2007.
310 roughly $1 billion: Tanika White, “Thanks to Baltimore, Air Force 1 Still Flying,” Baltimore Sun, January 25, 2007.
311 the cover: Rob Base & DJ E-Z Rock, It Takes Two. Profile Records, 1988, LP.
311 forty-seven: Zoë Vanderweide, “The History Behind the Louis Vuitton Nike Air Force 1 by Virgil Abloh,” Sotheby’s, September 15, 2022, https://www.sothebys.com/en/articles/the-history-behind-the-louis-vuitton-nike-air-force-1-by-virgil-abloh/.
311 Amen Break: Dave Turner, “The 20 Best Tracks That Sample the Amen Break,” Mixmag, November 20, 2018, https://mixmag.net/feature/the-20-best-tracks-that-sample-the-amen-break/.
312 “People don’t know”: Sarah Mower, “Louis Vuitton, Spring 2022 Menswear,” Vogue, November 20, 2021, https://www.vogue.com/fashion-shows/spring-2022-menswear/louis-vuitton/.
313 “Even though”: Vanessa Friedman, “Shannon Abloh Is Ready to Talk,” New York Times, November 29, 2022.
313 gathered in…alike: Antwaun Sargent, “In Search of Virgil Abloh,” GQ, February 15, 2022, https://www.gq.com/story/in-search-of-virgil-abloh/.
313 The Arnault…was here: Luke Leitch, “Into the Sky Above: Virgil Abloh Stages His Last Show for Louis Vuitton,” Vogue, November 30, 2021, https://www.vogue.com/slideshow/louis-vuitton-virgil-abloh-final-show/.
313 “They recalled”: Sargent, “In Search of Virgil Abloh.”
314 “I learned so much”: Tremaine Emory, interview by Touré, “Tremaine Emory on Denim Tears, Why He Quit Supreme, and Illustrious Career in Fashion,” DCP Entertainment, September 29, 2023, YouTube video, 1:25:04, https://youtube.com/watch?v=1FpcTksRar4/.
315 “To me, design”: Elise Taylor, “Virgil Abloh Just Debuted Some Seriously Cool New Furniture at Art Basel,” Vogue, June 12, 2019, https://www.vogue.com/article/virgil-abloh-just-debuted-some-seriously-cool-new-furniture-at-art-basel/.
315 educational websites: Virgil Abloh “Free Game” Website, https://virgilabloh.com/free-game/.
319 Fraser met…: Rachel Tashjian, “How Stüssy Became the Chanel of Streetwear,” GQ, May 10, 2021, https://www.gq.com/story/stussy-revival-2021/.
319 “The idea was”: Ryan Bassil, “Has Stüssy Taken Supreme’s Crown?,” Vogue Business, April 29, 2024, https://www.voguebusiness.com/story/fashion/has-stussy-taken-supremes-crown/.
320 celebratory collection: “Stüssy World Tour Collection,” Stüssy, November 16, 2020, https://www.stussy.com/blogs/features/stussy-world-tour-collection/.
321 in Vogue: Leitch, “Shawn Stüssy: Inventato Lo Streetwear.”
321 for i-D: “Felix Petty, “Best Friends Kate Moss and Kim Jones in Conversation,” i-D, February 19, 2020, https://i-d.co/article/kate-moss-conversation-kim-jones-the-icons-and-idols-issue-spring-2020/.
321 Vogue Italia: Leitch, “Shawn Stüssy: Inventato Lo Streetwear.”
321 alongside a photo: Shawn Stüssy Instagram, 2020
322 “A nice Stüssy T-shirt”: Tashjian, “The Chanel of Streetwear.”
323 “a proper viral hit”: Jake Silbert, “Wanna Go Viral on Tiktok? You'll Need Stüssy's 8-Ball Fleece, Highsnobiety, April 4, 2023, https://www.highsnobiety.com/p/stussy-8-ball-fleece-tiktok-trend/.
Chapter Thirty-Six
325: one billion… years: Edward Helmore, “Streetwear Brand Supreme to be Sold to Timberland Owner VF for $2.1bn,: Guardian, November 9, 2020, https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/nov/09/streetwear-brand-supreme-timberland-owner-vf/.
325 used to cover: Wendy Goodman, “The 72-Room Bohemian Dream House,” New York Magazine, September 18, 2008.
325 temporary location: Patrick Montes, “Supreme Reveals Plans for Temporary NYC Relocation,” Hypebeast, February 20, 2019, https://hypebeast.com/2019/2/supreme-nyc-new-york-lafayette-st-relocation-190-bowery-address/.
325 permanent: Nicholas Rizzi, “Streetwear Brand Supreme Staying Put at 190 Bowery,” Commercial Observer, October 9, 2019, https://commercialobserver.com/2019/10/supreme-lease-190-bowery-rfr-realty/.
327 “Insider the White Cube,”: Brian O’Doherty, “Insider the White Cube: Notes on the Gallery Space, Part 1,” Artforum, Vol. 14, No. 7, March 1976.
328 in front of Union: Emory, “Tremaine Emory on Denim Tears.”
329 No Vacancy Inn: Samuel Hine, “Meet Know Wave and No Vacancy Inn, the Crews Behind Art Basel’s Wildest Party,” GQ, December 5, 2016, https://www.gq.com/story/know-wave-no-vacancy-inn-asap-mob-art-basel-party/.
329 “That’s just one”: Tremaine Emory, “Tremaine Emory’s Beauty of Becoming,” Levi’s, February 9, 2021, YouTube video, 01:49, https://youtube.com/watch?v=3atpv9Av-dk/.
329 African American Flag: David Hammons, “African American Flag,” MoMA, https://www.moma.org/collection/works/222169/.
329 riffed on: Jonathan Michael Square, “Fashioning an African American Lexicon,” The Met, February, 25, 2022, https://www.metmuseum.org/perspectives/fashioning-african-american-lexicon/.
329 “If I lived”: Emory, “Tremaine Emory on Denim Tears.”
330 “I was probably”: Charlene Prempeh, “The ‘Cultural Lightning Rod’ Taking Over at Supreme,” Financial Times, June 21, 2022, https://www-ft-com.ezp-prod1.hul.harvard.edu/content/72fd070c-b7a4-4a2a-891e-1f9775151113/.
330 VF Corp…prior: Daniel-Yaw Miller, “Has Supreme Hit a Ceiling?,” Business of Fashion, June 16, 2023, https://www.businessoffashion.com/briefings/luxury/has-supreme-hit-a-ceiling/.
330 “systematic racism”: Vikram Alexei Kansara, “Tremaine Emory Exits Supreme, Alleging ‘Systematic Racism’,” Business of Fashion, August 31, 2023, https://www.businessoffashion.com/articles/workplace-talent/tremaine-emory-exits-supreme-alleging-systematic-racism/.
330 the Washington Post: Rachel Tashjian,” Tremaine Emory on Why He Quit Supreme and Felt like a ‘Mascot’”, Washington Post, September 1, 2023.
330 “strongly” disagreeing: Kansara, “Tremaine Emory Exits Supreme.”
330 “James couldn’t”: Tremaine Emory, interview by Noah Callahan-Bever, “Tremaine Emory on Denim Tears, Virgil, Kanye, and Leaving Supreme,” Complex, July 31, 2023, YouTube video, 37:28, https://youtube.com/watch?v=JjNnwwKffyY/.
331: with Arthur…America: Derek Ruiz, “Denim Tears x Arthur Jafa Fires Shots at Supreme,” Modern Notoriety, April 23, 2024, https://www.modernnotoriety.com/denim-tears-arthur-jafa-supreme-collection/.
331 rumors swirled: Evan Clark, “VF Hired Goldman Sachs to Consider Selling Supreme, Sources Said,” WWD, May 14, 2024.
331 GQ: Samuel Hine, “Supreme Grows Up,” GQ, March 22, 2023, https://www.gq.com/story/supreme-vf-corp-growth/.
331 Highsnobiety: Jake Silbert, “Supreme Is Dead, Long Live Supreme,” Highsnobiety, March 31, 2023, https://www.highsnobiety.com/p/supreme-dead/.
331 Supreme doubled: Nick Mattheis, “The Supreme Box Logo Is More Affordable Than Ever,” StockX, January 1, 2021, https://stockx.com/news/supreme-box-logo-affordable/.
331 analyzed a drop: Jacob Gallagher, “Is Supreme Still Cool?,” Wall Street Journal, May 9, 2023.
332 $200...$300 million: Luke Leitch, “Fear of God Could Grow To $1BN. For Jerry Lorenzo, That’s Not the Goal,” Vogue, April 24, 2023, https://www.vogue.com/article/fear-of-god-could-grow-to-dollar1bn-for-jerry-lorenzo-thats-not-the-goal/.
332 30,000 units: Mik Awake, “The Near Death and Rebirth of Tremaine Emory,” GQ, November 27, 2023, https://www.gq.com/story/men-of-the-year-2023-tremaine-emory-profile/.
332 “Aimé Leon Dore”: Jon Caramanica, “How Aimé Leon Dore Took New York,” New York Times, July 27, 2023.
333 “Supreme is coveted”: Alyssa Vingan Klein, “Virgil Abloh and Heron Preston Insist Supreme Can Still Be 'Cool' as a Billion-Dollar Brand,” Fashionista, October 13, 2017, https://fashionista.com/2017/10/vogue-conference-virgil-abloh-heron-preston/.
333 “pop masquerading”: Peter Schjeldahl, “Hope and Glory,” New Yorker, February 15, 2009.
335 “It’s that those”: Vanessa Friedman, “Streetwear Is Dead,” New York Times, February 10, 2022.
337 “Supreme was our”: Tyler Okonma, “Tyler, The Creator (2024),”Supreme, August 16, 2024, YouTube video, 07:21, https://youtube.com/watch?v=Bu0OOO8yY_w/.
337: “I guess a lot”: Noah Johnson, “Supreme Leader: The Extended James Jebbia Interview,” GQ, July 26, 2019, https://www.gq.com/story/supreme-james-jebbia-extended-interview/.