Louis Vuitton x Supreme Denim Barn Jacket Monogram Size 52 NWT LIMITED

Louis Vuitton and Supreme have both always operated with an absolute understanding of their customer. 

In the 19th century, Louis Vuitton created a waterproof canvas to protect the valuable contents of the iconic French luxury brand’s trunks used for intercontinental train travel. In the 20th century, Supreme founder James Jebbia hung merch on his first store’s walls instead of the selling floor, so that the fervid followers of the cult streetwear brand — which has long made the uncool cool and exhibited a subversive attitude — could skate in, unobstructed, from the street. Today Louis Vuitton x Supreme bags, clothing and accessories are the product of one of the most influential Louis Vuitton collabs.

For many years, these two worlds — luxury and street — were totally separate domains. But a bridge joining them developed steadily during the first decades of the 21st century. Vuitton x Stephen Sprouse edged the legacy brand toward the street, while Supreme’s 2012 collaboration with Comme de Garçons married street cred to high style.

Around 2016, rumors started. Jebbia was spotted in the first row at a Vuitton menswear show. Could it be? Could it be? It could. The collab hit the runway in 2017. “Come all ye hypebeasts,” announced Office magazine. “Today’s Louis Vuitton Fall/Winter menswear show featured official Supreme x LV items, and the internet is freaking out.”

“It was very exciting to see a subversive American street-style brand collaborate with an established high-fashion French brand like Louis Vuitton,” says Airee Edwards, owner and founder of Agora Vintage. “I think it proves how far American taste and style has come.”

Sales demonstrated the allure of the pairing: LVMH reported a 23 percent increase in profits in the first half of 2017, which it credited to the Supreme collab. Hardly surprising, as the hoodies, T-shirts, leather goods and general assortment of items that made up this pinnacle of all drops sold out immediately.

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