Streetwear has spent several years confusing tasteful with good. Everything has become quieter, cleaner and suspiciously easy to wear. Martine Rose has arrived to disturb the peace.
Her second proper Supreme collection is gloriously undisciplined: a Jeff Hamilton shearling coat; patchworked leather; a hockey jersey with a giant rabbit on the back; stripy shirts that appear to have survived a very good night out; and a Nike Dunk covered in Mike Tyson imagery. There is also a Supreme/Martine Rose JBL PartyBox, because apparently a normal speaker would have shown insufficient commitment.
The Clothes Have a Pulse
Martine Rose is at her best when clothes feel observed rather than designed—when they carry the odd proportions, subcultural references and slightly wrong styling of something seen on a real person at exactly the right moment.
That instinct suits Supreme. The brand does not need another tasteful capsule. It needs someone willing to interfere with its familiar codes. Here, the hockey jersey becomes campy and cartoonish. The striped shirt is translucent, oversized and tucked into patch-covered trousers. The cap is less polite accessory than character note.
The collection is full of product, but it still feels like a world. That is harder than making one viral item—and much more useful to Supreme.
Yes, Everyone Will Want the Dunk
The three-way Nike Dunk Low will do the obvious work. Its black leather upper carries photographs from Mike Tyson’s 1986 championship victory, with gold detailing that nods to a title belt. It takes Supreme’s photo-tee language and wraps it around a shoe people already understand.
It will sell out. It will be photographed from every angle. It may also distract people from the fact that the clothes are better.
The Wonder Verdict
The rabbit hockey jersey wins on sight. The black-and-red striped shirt is the sleeper. The shearling and patchwork leather are the grown-up grails, assuming the prices are as committed as the clothes. The speaker is ridiculous, but correctly so.
Most importantly, this does not feel like Martine Rose applying her handwriting to a stack of Supreme blanks. It feels like both brands became more themselves by letting the other one interfere.
Buy the rabbit jersey. Watch the striped shirt. Accept that the Dunk will be gone before you have finished thinking about it.
Campaign imagery courtesy of Supreme. Reporting informed by Supreme’s release material and the collection announcement shared by Hypebeast.