The 50 Greatest Supreme Accessories of All Time and the Stories Behind Them
Ross Wilson is a freelance writer living in Bath, England who has been a friend of the OG Supreme NYC crew since the mid ’90s and has subsequently amassed one of the largest collections of vintage Supreme pieces in the world.
“A brick? Supreme have made a f***ing brick with a Box Logo on it!”
Equal reactions of amusement and bemusement swept through forums, Facebook groups and Reddit threads when Supreme unveiled their Fall/Winter 2016 preview, which included a Box Logo-branded brick in its selection of accessories.
FW16's motorcycle helmet has the LA store’s street bike connection, the floodlight is obviously for skate filming and the hot water bottle is simply because NYC winters are so damn cold, but the brick was a little less obvious — is it a paperweight to keep your box logo stickers flat, a doorstop to prop open your sneaker closet or a foundation to build your own Supreme reseller store? Much has already been discussed about the brick and its potential uses, but it remains to be seen if we’ll witness hundreds of young Supreme fanatics walking the blocks around Lafayette, Fairfax and Peter Street weighed down with a bag full of bricks.
Many of Supreme’s accessories seem totally random at first but each one does, in fact, have a genuine reason behind it, and a legitimate connection to brand and its personnel. For example, a few months after the success of the first Supreme x Oakley Frogskin sunglasses back in 2007, the NY crew showed me samples of some Supreme ski goggles Oakley had produced, with the Box Logo branded on the strap. Although they looked great, they never made it to production as, at the time, James felt they weren't an authentic product for Supreme — it was a skate store, with no connection to snowboarding. Funnily enough, though, much of the crew enjoyed snowboarding on vacation, so the decision was flipped years later and a Supreme x Smith goggle made it into the FW15 collection.
In the past decade Supreme have really stepped up their collectibles range, and the accessories section of each season's preview becomes essential viewing, just to see what they've come up with this time! With that in mind, I thought I’d delve into my personal collection and come up with what I think are 50 of Supreme’s best (and most ridiculous) accessories.
Sporting Goods
1. Boxing Gloves
James Jebbia has always been a fan of boxing — many of Supreme’s T-shirt graphics have reflected his love of the sport — so it made sense for Supreme to collaborate with Everlast for an ongoing series of accessories.
Kicking things off in 2008 was a trio of Supreme x Everlast boxing gloves in blue, black and signature red (with matching mini glove key rings). The collab has gone on to include other staple boxing accessories such as hand grips, jump rope and a full size heavyweight punching bag. You can see some of the gear in action at Trinity Boxing Club in this promo video from 2008.
2. Baseball Bats
Spend a bit of time getting to know the guys at Supreme's original Lafayette St location and you’ll soon realise the crew there are all big baseball fans, so over the years Supreme have produced various baseball and softball bats.
2006 included a hook up with Louisville Slugger on two baseball bats – one full-size and one 18” mini. Both were available in white, black and red, with custom Supreme branding, and winked at potentially shady, non-sporty reasons for owning a baseball bat, via the phrase “Look Out Sucka!!” The bats were reproduced in 2011, but in miniature form and attached to a keychain.
Further bats in Supreme history include 2014's youth Mizuno Tee Ball Bat and the Wiffle Bat & Ball set from 2015.
3. Basketballs
Supreme is all about collaborating with the best brands in their respective fields, so when they paid homage to the hardwood, there was only one choice: Spalding.
Spalding, the official ball supplier to the NBA, have produced two full grain leather basketballs for Supreme – the “Each One, Teach One” logo version in 2007, and the Mark Gonzalez "Butterfly" print version in 2016.
4. American Football
2010 saw Supreme offer a mini football produced with sports company Wilson. The hand-held pigskin was available in both red and brown leather, featuring both Supreme and Wilson logos.
5. Nunchucks
Having seen Bruce Lee’s image on various Supreme items, we all know that these guys are big into martial arts, so producing their own branded nunchucks was a pretty cool idea. The lightweight training accessory was accompanied by a short promo video shot at Anderson’s Martial Arts Academy, NYC.
6. Baseball Gloves
To accompany the 2006 Louisville Slugger bats, Supreme also teamed up with famed baseball glove brand Franklin to release a pair of batting gloves in black and red.
Five years later, a duo of leather/woven cycling gloves, from Italian bike brand Cinelli were released, too.
7. Baseball and Catcher's Mitt
Having already collaborated with the most reputable baseball bat and glove manufacturers out there, Supreme followed up with an official league ball and embroidered catcher's mitt from heritage baseball brand Rawlings.
8. Sky Bounce Ball
Described as the “the classic ball of the urban streets that never loses bounce”, the Sky Bounce ball is a popular choice for games like handball and racquetball. In 2011 Supreme included a Sky Bounce ball, and reintroduced it as a free gift for the opening day of the SS16 season.
9. Baseball Pennants
In March 2015, our beloved downtown skate store did the previously unthinkable and partnered up with one of the biggest sports teams in the world: the New York Yankees. This huge collection included jackets, hats, tops and even a dual-branded Box Logo tee. The most interesting item was this old-school supporter’s pennant, featuring the famed logos of both brands.
The trio of pennants came in red, black and Yankees navy.
10. Air Horn
Although often used in sports like Ice Hockey, Mixed Martial Arts and Professional Wrestling, there are many other uses for an air horn – practical jokes, having it large on the dance floor or even to use as self defence! When Supreme dropped their all-red version in 2015 it was an instant sell-out, and one of the most popular accessories of that year's Fall/Winter season.
11. Off-road Honda dirt bike
The off-road Honda dirt bike arrived in FW19 and was by far the season's accessory standout. Built from both brands' traditional red and white colorways and co-branding. The model is a CRF 250R, which Honda describes as a “absolute holeshot-seeking machine," which basically means it accelerates super quickly and has a launch control system.
Boozing & Smoking
12. Tall Boy Bags
Drinking on the streets of New York City can cost you a $25 ticket thanks to the city's "Open Container" law, so in 2007 Supreme produced a handy 5-pack of brown paper liquor bags. There's nothing like cracking open a cold beer after an evening session at Tompkins or the Lenox Ledges, so why not hide it in style? Supreme's riff on the classic liquor store accessory even gave a cheeky nod to their illicit uses — Supreme’s F.T.P. (“Fuck Tha Police”) crest appeared on the bottom of the bags.
13. Bible Stash Box
One of my personal favourite Supreme accessories is the New Testament stash box from FW13. Seemingly every bit like a standard copy of the New Testament from the outside, this faux bible is actually a wooden stash box!
14. Rolling Papers
Love it or hate it, but smoking weed is a big part of skate culture. Back in 2008, Supreme gave a not-so-subtle nod to their appreciation of the herb with these branded rolling papers. The packaging was made to look like the store's business cards, and revealed the African-American proverb “Each One Teach One” when opened up. Of course they were manufactured by a company by the name of Rolling Supreme – who else!
15. Skate Tool / Pipe
In 2006 Supreme produced a pocket-sized skate tool. This handy bit of kit is not only ideal for adjusting your kingpin and bolts, but it also doubles up as a sneaky smoking device! The tool came in either stainless steel or gold finish, and was packaged in a nice co-branded box.
16. Incense
If you walk into any one of Supreme’s retail stores you’ll notice they all smell exactly the same. From Japan to LA to Paris, the stores' distinctive aroma is because they're burning Nag Champa incense. It was originally used to cover up the smell of other burning substances from the back of the NY store, and a lot of products purchased there have a faint, lingering odor of the Indian fragrance.
One of the rarest of all Supreme accessories is the original incense sticks they released in 2002. The 40gm set of sticks came beautifully packaged in a custom box featuring illustrations of tantric Indian sex. Seven years later, they collaborated with Japanese lifestyle brand Kuumba on a new set of incense sticks, complete with a neat cylindrical box and Box Logo ski tray.
Supreme's collaboration with Kuumba continued into 2013, with the Virgin Mary Shizucal Wax candle.
17. Matches
To be perfectly honest, I can’t really remember much about these other than they are tiny and have a Supreme logo on the box. I think the NY crew gave them to me sometime in the late ‘90s/early ‘00s. It’s a pretty cool little item to have after all these years, though.
18. Lighters
So you’ve used up your Supreme matches and you wanna light up your Supreme candle, Supreme incense or a naughty smoke (which you've rolled with Supreme papers, naturally). Well, they’ve got you covered, with a large collection of cigarette lighters that have been produced over the years — starting off as far back as 1998 with the rarely seen "Motion Logo" lighter.
Much more common are Supreme’s disposable BIC lighters which have been adorned with images of adult movie star Tera Patrick, collaboration logos with Undercover, the Misfits skull and, of course, the mighty Box Logo.
When you want something a little more substantial than a BIC, then pick up one of Supreme’s many special edition Zippo lighters. Since 2008, the classic American lighter has been given the Supreme makeover in a variety of tones and engravings.
19. Ashtrays
No selection of smoking accessories would be complete without something to catch all that smelly ash in, so naturally Supreme have a large selection of ashtrays in their vast back catalogue. Whether it’s glass, ceramic, plastic, square, circular, rectangular or shaped like a handgun, Supreme have produced plenty of creative versions of the basic household object.
The pinnacle of this series has to be their incredible 2012 flip on the famed red/gold Hermes " Sellier" tray, which now commands almost as much as the real thing on resell sites.
20. Bottle Openers
Crack your bottles open in style with one of many Supreme bottle openers.
Having released dozens of keychain bottle openers of various styles, the finest version is, in my eyes, the wall-mounted STARR X bottle opener from 2010. The classic design stationary opener came in stainless steel with Supreme’s Box Logo embossed across the top where the phrase “Open Bottle Here” would usually sit.
Practical Stuff
21. Bike Locks
A lot of the Supreme NY team are keen cyclists, as it’s such a good way to get around the city. The first Supreme branded bike lock was released for SS07 — it was a lightweight aluminium chain, available in red and black. This was quickly followed up with a re-release, but this time it was a dual-branded version with Hiroshi’s fragment design label. The Supreme x fragment chain was also available in blue, alongside the aforementioned red and black. I’m unsure if this was a Japanese-only release, as I picked mine up in Tokyo at the time.
As bike thieves get more advanced, so must the cyclists who wish to protect their rides. Supreme acknowledged this by updating their bike security in 2015 with the heavy-duty Kryptonite U-Lock – you gotta keep that $2K Supreme x Brooklyn Machine Works cruiser safe, right?!
22. Bike Pumps
Another essential cyclists' accessory is a bike pump. Partnering up with established pump manufacturers Lezyne, first up was the Supreme-branded handheld pump in 2011, followed by the larger aluminium floor pump in 2016.
23. Locks
For the FW08 season, and just in time for the back-to-school rush, Supreme dropped a trio of combination locks from Master Lock, the largest padlock manufacturer in the U.S. The simple accessory perfectly accentuates the monotonous rows of grey school lockers, but it would probably cause a bidding war on every opening nowadays!
Not quite as impressive, but also pretty cool, was the mini brass padlock that came out in 2015.
24. Box Cutter
There's a lot of guys working in the Supreme warehouse and they open a lot of boxes, as you can imagine! Why not pop open that tape in style with a Box Logo branded box cutter. In 2006 these were released in three colors and made for a cool little accessory, not only for anyone working in a mailroom, but handy for opening all those online orders you're making every Thursday!
25. Knives
There have been quite a few Supreme pocket penknives over the years, but the most impressive blade has to be the mighty Supreme Buck knife.
In 2009 Supreme collaborated with Buck on a "Buck Range Model 120," a smaller successor of their famous "Model 110" folding knife, which has been the most copied knife design ever since it released in 1963. The Supreme version featured the same brass inlay and wooden handle, stained in two different veneers (black or red, naturally), with a large Supreme logo overlay, of course.
26. Towels
Every year an impressive beach towel (including Astronaut, Grand Prix, Abstract and Box Logo graphics) is part of Supreme’s accessory line but, prior to these full-size items, the first Supreme towel was actually a free gift courtesy of a Japanese magazine. In April of 2006, Japanese style publication Smart released their June issue complete with an entire mini-mag dedicated to Supreme. The publication featured upcoming products, a profile on the NY store and a nice free gift – a red box logo hand towel measuring approximately 7” x 24”.
Supreme later produced more of these small towels including the leopard print version (given away with the Supreme Book Vol.5), a patriotic Stars & Stripes design, the "Bling" Box Logo and a special New York Yankees collaboration.
They also produced a couple of old-school British pub-style beer towels back in 2010 as well.
27. Playboy Key
The first Playboy Club opened in Chicago in 1960, and further clubs opened in major cities in North America and overseas. During the last three months of 1961, more than 132,000 people visited the Chicago club, making it the busiest nightclub in the world. All club members received a Bunny-head metal Playboy key (supplanted by a plastic keycard in 1966) that was required for admission to a club, and it became something of a status symbol in the early ‘60s.
As part of their inaugural Playboy capsule collection in SS11, Supreme paid tribute to the old-school members' club with a dual-branded version of the infamous key. It’s a really nice and subtle little accessory that often gets overlooked.
28. Compass
One of the very earliest non-skate specific accessories I remember Supreme producing was this understated compass key ring sometime back in the late ’90s.
Available in red, black and tan colours, this was an early entry into the accessories market and sat proudly in the Lafayette Street store cabinet alongside trucks, wheels, bolts and stickers.
29. Maglite
In 2007 Supreme collaborated with famed American manufacturer Maglite to release a version of their classic heavyweight D-Cell LED flashlight. With ‘SUP’ branding on the handle, this initial release was the beginning of a collaborative series with the US brand that was founded back in 1974, which included the following torches:
FW07 Maglite ML300L 3-Cell (2 Colours) SS08 Maglite ML300L 6-Cell (2 Colours) FW08 Maglite Solitaire 3.5” (3 Colours) FW15 Maglite XL50 4.8” (2 Colours)
30. Bolt Cutters
Sneaking into fenced-off skate spots can be a tricky business, so you'd better pack some handy 14” Supreme bolt cutters next time you feel like trespassing for that essential session.
31. Hardcore Hammer
Something you may have noticed is that Supreme favour classic American brands when it comes to producing accessories. This trend continued in 2012 when Supreme decided to team up with Hardcore for this intimidating 19oz/18” hammer.
32. Crowbar
Continuing their range of tools (yes, they even released an actual tool box too!), Supreme sent budding DIY enthusiasts into a frenzy in 2015 with their own crowbar. “Shit Happens” was the motto printed on the tool — any illegal activity conducted with the piece was of course optional.
33. Kidde Fire Extinguisher
In 1917, Walter Kidde founded the Walter Kidde Company, which produced the first integrated smoke detection and carbon dioxide extinguishing system for use on ships. This invention was just one of many firsts that would make Kidde the world’s largest manufacturer of fire safety products.
Almost a century later, Kidde produce their top-of-the-range FX340GW red fire extinguisher especially for Supreme, perfect for protecting your vast Supreme clothing collection should you ever accidentally start a house fire with one of your many Supreme lighters!
This is one of the only Supreme accessories that never made it across the pond to the London store due to its weight.
34. Sand Timer
If it takes 3 minutes to boil an egg, what exactly can you achieve in 2.5 minutes? Well you can find out with the Supreme sand timer from SS15!
35. Sleeping Bag
The North Face may have been in bed with Supreme since 2007, but they didn’t actually give them a place to sleep until 2011. The Supreme x TNF Dolomite sleeping bag came in classic red, simple black and a dope camouflage version. Following on from the original trio was a second set which came with the "Bandana" collection in 2014.
My favourite part was that they didn’t use any wholesome outdoor camping photos to promote this release, instead favouring models Lucien Smith and Lucien Clarke looking pretty hungover on a beat-up old couch.
36. Alarm Clock
Once you’ve passed out in your aforementioned Supreme sleeping bag you still need to get up and do shit the following day, so what better way than to wake up courtesy of this Supreme x Braun travel alarm clock.
37. Dog Bowl
There have always been dogs hanging around the Supreme stores. Neal Santos’s dog was pretty much part of the Lafayette St. store furniture back in the old days, and LA store manager Jeff Kutter’s hound "Charles" is an Instagram star in his own right.
In 2011, Supreme gave canine lovers the opportunity to feed their pooch in style, with a ceramic dog bowl available in red or black. 5 years down the line and these things go for crazy prices on the secondary market.
38. Drinking Vessels
Supreme have produced plenty of interesting vessels to consume liquid over the years. These include a Specialized water bottle, Nalgene bottle, Klean Kanteen bottle, army-style water canteen, Helios thermos flask, hip flask, espresso cup, British pint glass, 12oz. bar glass and even a coffee mug featuring the infamous oil painting L'Origine du Monde by French artist Gustave Courbet.
Fun Stuff & Novelties
39. Medicom Kubrick Toy
Having been hit with a cease and desist from Sesame Street in 2005 over their use of an Elmo toy in close proximity to an automatic weapon (from the Raekwon poster shoot), it came as a bit of a shock that Supreme ended up producing an official Muppets collaboration just three years later. Kermit the Frog is an American icon, so when Supreme followed their Terry Richardson-photographed portrait tee with a Medicom Kubrick figure of the little green muppet, people were quick to snap them up. Retailing at just $18, the blister-pack backed 6cm tall vinyl figure features the famous Muppet dressed in his own Supreme box logo t-shirt.
40. Fridge Magnet
Not much to say about this other than it’s a Supreme fridge magnet. I remember these sitting in the NY store cabinet for ages as most people presumed it was just a sticker!
Further forays into the fridge magnet game included the "Praying Hands" and "Police Pig" designs turned into neat magnetic accessories.
41. Water Pistol
2011 was a vintage year for Supreme accessories, with these little novelty water pistols making a fun accessory to freshen up a visit to the beach or park during hot summer days. An unbranded version will probably cost around $2-3 in any corner store but you’ll look at paying anything up to $100 resale for one of these Supreme guns in red or blue.
42. Switchblade Comb
Supreme released a couple of classic metal combs in their FW12 collection, but it’s the 2010 switchblade comb that really catches the eye. Switchblades (or flick knives) were popular tools for American gang crime in the ’50s, around the same time that the "Greaser" subculture was becoming a symbol of youthful rebellion.
The combination of the switchblade and pompadour hairstyle led to the introduction of the switch comb, as the appearance of the comb also allowed greasers to carry a grooming product without detracting from their macho appearance. Feel free to check out Francis Ford Coppola’s 1983 movie The Outsiders for a classic slice of greaser Americana.
43. Playing Cards
American card brand Bicycle produce the most widely used playing cards in the world. From the most exclusive tables in Vegas, to any respected "slight-of-hand" magician to card games played at home, Bicycle are the industry standard.
Supreme first collaborated with Bicycle in 2009 with the red ‘SUP’ logo deck, and followed the following year with a "Street Scene" pack.
An all-gold set of Supreme poker cards were released in 2013, but I've got a feeling they weren't made by Bicycle.
44. Air Fresheners
Keep your car, home, office or sneaker collection smelling good with a Supreme Pina Colada air freshener. These cut-out Magic Tree alternatives came in the form of model/dancer Rosa Acosta, Disney’s "The Pink Panther" and artist Keo TC5’s praying hands/rosary cartoon.
45. Baoding Balls
Baoding balls, also known as Chinese meditation balls, are small metal balls that are rotated repeatedly in the hand and intended to improve finger dexterity, relaxation, or aid in the recovery of muscle strength after surgery. In the movie Boyz N The Hood, Laurence Fishburne’s character Furious used a set of Baoding balls while working in his home.
Supreme’s FW15 set of 45mm iron meditation balls came in a stunning red/gold velvet branded case.
46. Harmonica
German musical instrument brand Hohner have been producing harmonicas since 1857. In 2012 Supreme branded the classic Hohner 360 harmonica with a custom Supreme screen printed box logo and box.
47. Domino Set
A prime example of Supreme taking a pretty ordinary object and giving it a classy makeover is these dominos from FW12. The classic white dominoes were each branded with the Supreme logo and packaged in a red wooden box. A promo video featuring a huge domino toppling set-up was added to the "Random" section of the Supreme site during this season.
48: Beach Ball & Inflatable Raft
I’ve already mentioned the long line of Supreme beach towels, so another essential coastline/poolside accessory you’ll need is this full-sized inflatable box logo raft from SS13. Supreme also gave out a free beach ball to customers queuing up on the opening day of the SS15 season.
49: Coin Bank
Keeping up with Supreme costs a lot, so they handily provided a way of saving your loose change with a piggy bank shaped like a massive die. The ceramic coin box came in a choice of red, white or black and was released in 2011.
50. Dice Set
Many people feel that trying to cop anything on Supreme’s webstore is like a game of chance, so in 2011 they provided gamblers with a nifty little set of custom dice. The dice were available in red or white and came housed in a rad perspex box.
This is by no means a definitive list of Supreme accessories, simply my pick of some of the most interesting and well executed projects. The Supreme box logo has also adorned notebooks, rugs, tool boxes, lock boxes, cell phone straps, cell phone cases, camera cases, CDs, pens, screwdrivers, umbrellas, chairs, tables and even salt and pepper shakers!
Where will they go next? One thing’s for sure, Supreme will keep everyone guessing and pushing the boundaries of what can be branded with their legendary logo.
Ross Wilson is a freelance writer living in Bath, England who has been a friend of the OG Supreme NYC crew since the mid ’90s and has subsequently amassed one of the largest collections of vintage Supreme pieces in the world. You can check out his Instagram here.
