20 Things We Learned About Being Cool From Supreme's First 20 Years

Image via Complex Original

1. Being A Poser Is OK

While James Jebbia is the sole reason one of the most iconic skateboard brands of all time exists, homie doesn’t even skate. Like so many people to follow in his footsteps, he simply loved the sport for it's aesthetic and cultural impact. Sometimes it takes an "outsider" like this to make something truly perfect because they're not so far up their own ass with the idea of any particular scene's "authenticity."

2. Being Friendly Is Lame

If you've ever been into a Supreme store, then you know being cool is all about being a total dickhead. This policy has a similar effect on women in their early '20s.

3. Marketing Is Wack

Supreme doesn't buy ads in magazines or put our commercials. They drop lookbooks every once in a while, release a skate video or randomly, and illegally, paint their name on a LES building, but these are more about photography, skateboarding and art than they are about actually promoting Supreme. I mean, of course they’re about promoting Supreme, but they never feel like they’re trying to sell a product.

4. Hang Out With The Art Crowd

Art people are pretty cool. They smoke cigarettes, live in cool apartments and don’t give a fuck about "The Man." Supreme has known this for almost 20 years. Since collaborating with Rammellzee, Supreme has teamed up with big name art stars including Damien Hirst and Kaws, constantly re-upping their membership in the cool kids club.

5. Shit From Your Childhood Is As Awesome As You Remember

Supreme doesn’t shy away from nostalgia because your childhood was, in fact, as perfect and pain free as you remember. They've collaborated with the likes of Kermit The Frog because they know how weirdly Freudian all of this lifestyle and clothing shit is. Plus, they film all of their skate videos like it’s still 1994 because 1994 was obviously cooler than 2014, just like how 2014 will definitely be way cooler than 2034.

6. Climb The Social Ladder By Befriending Those Cooler Than You

Just acting cool won't get you very far because you're only as cool as the company you keep. Supreme collabs with legendary labels like Nike and Comme Des Garcons in the interest of not only putting out cool product, but to cop some of that runoff, residual cool. Co-signs from power players in your field are often more valuable than any "design" or bullshit like that.

7. Getting Old Doesn't Mean Getting Swagless

Jason Dill fought in WWII, killed 12 men in Okinawa, and still looks like a badass in ever Supreme lookbook.

8. You Ain't Shit Until You're Big In Japan

Everything that was ever cool in America was REALLY cool in Japan first. See, dudes in Japan don't give a fuck about hypebeasting, but lean into it, shamelessly spending all of their money on shit they don’t need. It’s awesome to be honest. In the process, they are on the cutting edge of all cool shit at all times, from clothing to food to booze. It should come as no surprise then that Supreme has more stores in Japan than the rest of the world combined.

9. Avoid The Press

Traditional ways of thinking tell brands and people to seek out coverage in the press, but that shit is hella thirsty. If you want to seem cool, never make yourself available to media outlets, and when you do, answer every question like it's beneath you.

10. Only Use Social Media When It's Completely Necessary

Social media has given everyone a way to share the inconsequential details of their life (and post funny cat videos), but anyone who's cool knows it should only be used unexpectedly and directly. Cut through the bullshit and just tell the people what you want to say, which in Supreme's case is usually: "Our online store has been updated."

11. Always Rely On What You Do Best

Although everyone grows and evolves, once you find something you do really well, stick to it and remind everyone once in a while that you still got it. As tempting as it is, there's no real reason to completely reinvent yourself. Supreme is constantly re-releasing shit like box logo hoodies because everyone will always love them until the end of time.

12. Be Friends With Rappers

Rappers, even more so than the aforementioned artists, are the coolest people alive assuming they’re not Wiz Khalifia or Macklemore. By associating with them you too can seem cool and like you do drugs with little regard for the consequences.

13. Never Answer The Phone

Even before texting was the preferred method of communication, answering phones wasn’t cool. If you're able to answer the phone then you must not be off doing cool person things like not answering phones. Don't believe me? Try ringing Supreme and asking if they have any yellow T-shirts in stock.

14. Encourage Your Weird Friends To Keep Being Weird

Weird friends are important to anyone’s cool factor because if there’s one thing weird people are not, it’s basic. The one catch is that you should make sure your weird friends are also successful. If you have a white friend with dreadlocks, at least make sure he's had, like, one legit gallery opening, otherwise you'll just seem like someone who couldn't make friends elsewhere and had to resort to hanging with the weirdos.

15. Stickers Are Nature's Business Cards

The only people who have business cards are finance douchebags and struglords who use Vistaprint to promotoe their auto body shop/blog. Stickers, on the other hand, are cool because they make any skateboard, street sign or laptop look rebellious and anti-establishment, while also providing another non-thirsty avenue for promotion.

16. Swearing Will Always Be Fucking Fun

I mean, just fucking look at how fucking awesome this fucking sentence is, bitch.

17. Think Highbrow, But Live Lowbrow Or Vice Versa

If you have a dope apartment, have some beat up vintage pieces to furnish it. If you're wearing a designer shirt, rock it with some basic sneakers. Maybe even cop some expensive artwork and leave it unframed. See, having only nice shit kind of just makes you seem stuck up and corny, while having only poor people shit just makes you seem pathetic and struggle. That's why Supreme doesn't just make graphic tees, but also high-end collabs with Loro Piana and Adam Kimmel.

18. Stay Ahead Of The Gentrification Curve

When Supreme moved into their store on 274 Lafayette St., the neighborhood was anything but the mini mall it is today. At the time, SoHo was still largely an art-based community (which, as we've learned, is cool), and the block between Prince and Houston was dominated by skaters and misfits alike. The same is true for Supreme's Fairfax location, which nowadays is more like Odd Future Fan Club World HQ. Anticipating which geographic locations will pop off in the coming years will ensure your coolness for years to come.

19. Just Do Whatever The Fuck You Want

While all of this has probably seemed quite calculated and formulaic, at the end of the day, just do and make whatever the fuck you want. Rules are for lames and you want to be the exact opposite. Why do you think Supreme makes shit like baseball gloves and nunchakus and films videos with David Blaine?

20. Basically, Be A Cult Leader

Ultimately, the coolest thing you can ever hope to possibly do is convince everyone to believe how cool you are. Once you’ve done that, the rest is pretty fucking simple. All you have to do is keep up the 19 previous steps for, I don't know, roughly 20 years and everyone will blindly follow you wherever you go.