Everybody knows that collaborations are the holy grail of the streetwear world. Everybody also knows that, in 2014, Supreme are the undisputed collab champions. In the past 12 months they’ve worked with everyone from Damien Hirst to Lady Gaga, announced an upcoming Supreme x Brooks Brothers range, and released collections with brands ranging from North Face to Vans, Champion to Levis and Timberland to Clarks.

These drops provoke the kind of temporary insanity that leads streetwear fiends to que for hours and shell out thousands on eBay for that little red box logo when they miss out. That insanity also meant the NYCPD felt they had to block the flagship New York release of the Nike x Supreme Foamposites over fears that everyone would go a little too batshit crazy. Some say it’s all gone a little too far but the release day hype, whatever your opinion on it, is all part and parcel of the modern streetwear game.

Fiending for the Foamposites

Some of these ranges have been to my taste and some haven’t. That’s to be expected, but there’s a select few collaborations that I just can’t stomach.

Their skateboarding roots and subcultural prestige means Supreme have always had a legit connection to the underground scene. Their credentials may be genuine, but when a company starts releasing products that cash in on their ‘authentic’ status, it becomes a genuine problem.

The Supreme x Misfits was one thing, since the Misfit’s Crimson Skull has been plastered on every possible piece of merch for the past two decades anyway, but Supreme’s take on Youth of Today was straight up wrong. Releasing a ‘Youth Crew’ jumper featuring the Youth of Today fist logo without the Straight Edge ‘x’ shows a disregard for the band’s ideology which is pretty inexcusable.

Excommunicate the X

That said, the Youth of Today jumper was nothing compared to the Dead Kennedys x Supreme collection that dropped last month. Dead Kennedys may have become a joke in the punk scene since they replaced lead singer Jello Biafra with a former child star, but if you don’t see anything wrong with selling a t-shirt featuring the artwork of a band who wrote ‘Kill The Poor’ for 30 bucks, then you might need to rethink your stance.

Probably the most ironic picture you’ll see today

Granted, Supreme aren’t the first brand who’ve tried to cash in on American Hardcore’s retro cool (Yo! What’s up Urban Outfitters?) and they won’t be the last but, given their roots, it’s pretty cynical. I thought better of them.

I guess that makes me naïve.

Saying that, I’m still a fiend at the end of the day and I can’t say I won’t drop a few notes on some Supreme gear in the near future. So I guess I’m a hypocrite as well.