The 20 Most Obscure Supreme Box Logo Tees
Few articles of clothing in the streetwear world command quite the same fervor as Supreme’s box logo tees. With countless colorways, special releases, collaborations, and friends-and-family editions out there, getting up to speed with the the brand’s logo-branded gear can be a challenge. The original shirt — a red box logo on a plain white T-shirt, released in 1994 — has spawned countless design variants that have taken inspiration from luxury brands and diverse cultures.
Here are some of the most obscure Supreme box logo T-shirts from the brand’s 25-plus-year history, with illustrations by artist Dan Freebairn and words by Supreme expert Ross Wilson.
Sample Box Logo
Of all the Supreme box logo T-shirts, the Sample tee has to be one of the rarest, and one of the most conceptually bizarre. The idea of a brand taking its symbolic logo and defacing it to the point of being unreadable is pretty off the wall, but it’s a testament to how iconic the logo is that it’s still recognizable despite the huge black mark.
Grid Box Logo (Tokyo Daikanyama Store Opening)
Released to mark the opening of Supreme’s first store in Japan, the Grid box logo is a simple rendition of the classic bogo, altered to look as if it were designed on graph paper. Particularly nice touches are the blue crop marks on each corner and cursor arrow to the left of the logo, signifying a “work in progress” vibe.
'Sopranos' Box Logo
For many, The Sopranos is the greatest TV drama of all time, and much like Supreme itself, the show grew from a small cult following to critical and mainstream success. In 1999, Supreme paid homage to the United States’ favorite fictional crime family by altering the “r” in its logo to mimic the gun in The Sopranos’ logo.
Hebrew Box Logo (Los Angeles Store Opening)
This Hebrew variant of the box logo was introduced for the opening of Supreme’s second U.S. store in 2004. The language is spoken by more than 9 million people worldwide and the logo was a nod to Los Angeles’ Fairfax neighborhood, where the store was located, which was historically a hub of Jewish culture in the city.
Coca-Cola Box Logo/strong>
Supreme has had its wrists slapped for trademark infringements numerous times, but back in 1997 the brand was small enough to get away with a few cheeky remixes of other brands’ logos and imagery. “Enjoy Supreme” was an early example of the New York brand flipping a classic logo for its own use.
Jackson Pollock Box Logo
Along with tributes to Barbara Kruger, Jean-Michel Basquiat, and Keith Haring, this 1999 box logo T-shirt embraced Supreme’s affinity for the art world. Reinterpreting Pollock’s painting Number One as the fill for a box logo, the brand once again showcased its interests outside the skate community.
Futura Laboratories x Silly Thing Box Logo
To celebrate Futura’s art show at Hong Kong’s Silly Thing store, Supreme released a three-way collaborative box logo shirt featuring Futura’s hand-scripted Supreme logo on the front with a paint-splatter pattern with Futura Laboratories and Silly Thing logos on the back. The exclusive shirt was released in black/black and white/black colorways.
Mo’ Wax Box Logo
When James Lavelle celebrated 21 years of his seminal record label Mo’ Wax, he collaborated with various brands that were important to the label, such as Nike, Converse, and BAPE. At the opening of Mo’ Wax’s “Build and Destroy” exhibition at London’s Saatchi Gallery in November 2014, fans were treated to an exclusive Supreme T-shirt with Futura artwork in the logo fill and Mo’ Wax and Build and Destroy logos on the reverse. Limited to just 50 pieces, the tees were snapped up immediately by those fortunate enough to attend the exhibition’s opening.
BAPE Box Logo
Although Supreme and A Bathing Ape have since taken different paths, this 2002 collaboration made perfect sense at the time. The project was simple: take the Supreme box logo and wrap it in BAPE camouflage patterns. The tee came in 15 different prints and featured a stitched Ape Head sleeve tag, a standard on BAPE’s own tees.
Rizzoli Box Logo
In 2010, Supreme published a 304-page coffee table book documenting the brand’s history to date. To mark the occasion, various friends and family were hooked up with a special white tee featuring a simple black box logo on the chest and images of Supreme affiliate Javier Nunez from the book’s cover on the reverse.
Burberry Box Logo
Supreme has played on the branding of famous fashion houses more than once. The brand’s neighbors on Canal Street — a home to NYC’s counterfeit culture — provided plenty of inspiration, and a series of box logo designs based on luxury brands followed. The Louis Vuitton and Gucci bites might be more celebrated, but it was British fashion house Burberry that received the first box logo rip back in 1997.
9/11 Box Logo
Supreme paid tribute to its hometown — citizens and first responders alike — following the September 11, 2001 attacks on New York City’s World Trade Centre. The box logo design features an American flag within the fill and the text “Home of the Bravest” on the reverse.
Pink Snakeskin Box Logo (Tokyo Harajuku Store Opening)
To celebrate the opening of Supreme’s second Tokyo store, the brand produced a limited edition pink snakeskin box logo featuring the branch’s “160906” launch date across the back. Although the pink version was exclusive to those attending the Harajuku launch, the snakeskin box logo tee was released in red, yellow, and black colorways in all Supreme stores in 2006.
Japan Relief Box Logo
After a March 2011 earthquake caused a tsunami to hit Japan’s east coast, killing nearly 16,000 and affecting thousands more, Supreme showed its support for victims with a benefit T-shirt featuring a box logo filled with a rising sun graphic. The back of the shirt read “Japan / Earthquake Relief / March 2011 / United We Stand,” with 100 percent of proceeds from sales donated to the Japanese Red Cross Society.
Damien Hirst Box Logo
Alongside its second set of skate decks made in collaboration with British artist Damien Hirst in 2009, Supreme released an accompanying box logo tee. Although original samples were in red, the final design was a white tee with Hirst’s signature spot painting filling the box on the front and “Life’s a Bitch Then You DIE!” text on the back.
Molodkin Box Logo
Andrei Molodkin is a Russian-born conceptual artist from Paris, whose trademark drawings are made in ballpoint pen, a reference to the pens he was given to write letters with while in the Soviet army. Supreme commissioned Molodkin to create artwork for a series of skateboards in 2004, and this collaboration also resulted in a T-shirt with Supreme’s box logo reworked by Molodkin in his signature ballpoint-pen style.
Union Jack Box Logo (London Store Opening)
In September 2011, Supreme launched its first European outlet, opening a split-level store in London. Launch party guests and opening weekend customers alike were treated to a white T-shirt featuring a Union Jack fill that was available in both short- and long-sleeve versions.
Black Box Logo (Paris Store Opening)
Supreme’s second European outpost opened in March 2016 in Paris. The celebratory tee was a simple, stylish offering that reflected the presence of figures from high fashion such as Rick Owens and Kim Jones at the opening party: a simple black box logo on a customary white T-shirt. The back print featured the phrase “‘Bonjour Madame’” and the “10—3—2016” opening date.
Arabic Camo Box Logo
Having debuted both the Arabic and Marble Camo box logos in 1997, Supreme combined the two designs a couple of years later. The Arabic script translates roughly into “Glory” and acknowledges New York City’s 64,000 Arabic speakers. Samples were made of this particular version of the box logo in 1999 but the tee never received a general release.
Takashi Murakami Box Logo
Supreme tapped Japanese artist Takashi Murakami to adorn a new box logo design to raise funds for a Covid-19 fundraiser tee. All proceeds go to HELP USA, an organization that works tirelessly to support vulnerable groups facing homelessness during the pandemic. Read more about that here.
Curated by Ross Wilson, a freelance writer living in Bath, England. Ross 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 products in the world.
