Christie’s Supreme T-shirt collection sells for around $ 2 million

The most complete collection of Supreme T-shirts is on sale in Christie’s for around 2 million, highlighting the rising value of the luxury streetwear brand and the growing importance of a new generation in the collection world.

The T-shirt collection is the only complete collection of Supreme “box-logo” T-shirts that have been released since 1994. The collection includes 253 shirts, which, on average, work for more than 900 7,900 for a t-shirt.

The collection is offered as a private sale, meaning that a buyer will buy it directly from Christie, not through auction. The asking price is not public, but Christie said the collection value is more than 2 million.

It’s featured in an ad dedicated to Christie’s first auction Launched as a single skateboard shop in Manhattan And became a global street clothing sensation. Supreme was recently bought by VF Corp for $ 1.1 billion.

The T-shirt collection is sold by 21-year-old Canadian fashion student James Bogart, who began buying top gear when he was 14 years old. Bogart, who grew up in Vancouver, said he does not live near any of the top stores, but owns a skater, according to friends who introduced him to the brand, American journalist Hunter S. They led him to buy a top jacket inspired by Thomson.

After learning more about the brand, Ford began buying T-shirts, and his goal was to create the first “complete archive” of each of Supreme’s 241 designs and to create 12 T-shirts as models or “friends and family”. Designers. Supreme is famous for its limited edition “drops” where customers line up in blocks to get their hands on a limited number of new releases.

Early shirts are hard to find, he said, because Supreme sometimes only released 50 to 150 shirts. He accidentally found a shirt in the collection and when he visited another collector in London, he showed him a Christmas colored T-shirt. Another design with Arabic characters is very rare.

“My interest changed,” Bogart said. “Eventually, I found out, hey, I can go for something that no one else can finish.”

Bogart admits that $ 2 million is a “ridiculous” amount for a t-shirt. But Supreme is more like fine art than clothing, with a lack of, cultural fit and values ​​that speak to the new generation of collectors.

A A collection of top skateboard sites Sotheby’s was auctioned for, 800,000 last year, and ArtCurial held a peak auction in 2018, which was worth more than $ 1 million.

“The peak is a key location,” Bogart said. “They are really at the forefront of defining culture. The easiest way to sort out the value of this collection is to be the pumping heart of the brand, which will always be the most important cultural identity.”

Bogart will not say exactly how much he spent to collect the collection. Each T-shirt went through a former multistage verification process, with the help of a former top employee. He also uploaded detailed images of the shirts to the digital archive for public verification.

Bogart, who is currently studying business and fashion in Italy, said he regrets participating in the collection as much as he enjoys airflow.

“I think it would be a little bit bitter,” he said. “For me, it’s always been about hunting. Also, many people think this collection is impossible to finish. So, when it was finished, I was very relaxed and proud, but I really wanted to put it on a platform that could appreciate and do collection justice.”

As for whether any new buyer can really wear meticulously maintained shirts, Bogart said: “I hope they don’t wear them. I’ve been trying for a long time to get these shirts in their best condition. I think it’s a little painful to see. But again, who cares? Even if they buy, I will totally encourage them to do anything that makes them happy. “

Christie’s Dedicated Summit Auction, also known as “Behind the Box: 1994-2020”, opened for auction on Tuesday and runs through December 15.