In the ongoing twisted tale that is the Supreme Legit Fake saga, which nss has been following since the beginning, yet another very interesting turn has taken place. The Supreme Italia brand which was selling apparel featuring the original Supreme New York brands box logo, first started selling the items in Italy, which after legal battles moved shops to Spain where Supreme Spain was established and with it an expanding number of shops selling the brand. A court decision on October 5th in Barcelona concluded, that Supreme New York is not in the legal position to give any inhibitory orders to Supreme Spain and that what is now taking place in Spain is at the moment fully legal and more shops will be opening around the country.

For the very latest developments, however, we need to travel across Europe, to a country most of you would not have expected, to the shores of Stockholm, Sweden. A country which by most is considered to be a pinnacle of law-abiding and playing by the books sees the unfolding of the next chapter in this epic tale. In 2015, in Solna, just outside of central Stockholm, Sweden’s first true mega-mall opened its doors, the Mall of Scandinavia. Modeled after the American giants from across the pond, a wide variety of stores and brands have set up shop within the Mall, one of which is JC Jeans. JC Jeans has been a staple brand in Stockholm for many years, with twenty-something shops spread throughout the country. Founded already in 1962, I remember it well from my youth in Stockholm where in the late 90’s and early 2000’s it was a bit of a go-to place for jeans, but the company has in recent years fallen on hard times with losses being constantly reported throughout.

It was thus with a bit of a surprise when a few weeks ago a new large sign was set up in the Mall of Scandinavia advertising that JC Jeans now sells Supreme clothing in Limited stock, exclusively at Mall of Scandinavia. This raised questions for a few people in the know, who are well aware of that Supreme New York is only sold through their flagship stores or own online shop. When investigating things closer it has been revealed that JC Jeans in the Mall of Scandinavia is in fact selling the Supreme Spain brand. JC Jeans have yet to make a statement, but anonymous sources have told that this seems to be a private initiative taken on by the local manager of the JC Jeans store within the mall.

How this will all continue to unfold is pure speculation at this point, but what is interesting with the latest ruling in Barcelona, is that in principle, nothing has been shown to be illegal at this point. However, the fact that JC Jeans at no point makes their costumers aware of that they are not buying Supreme New York rather the legally fake Supreme Spain, actually quite the opposite, giving the impression they are selling the Original Supreme New York brand, will surely have some consequences. We have been foreseeing that this legal fake phenomenon would be spreading to other European countries, where the same legal grounds as in Spain could very well apply, and trademarking the brand locally wouldn’t have any legal precedents in not being allowed, but what is happening now in Sweden shows that, that might not even be necessary, where a now currently legal brand like Supreme Spain could potentially be retailed by whoever wants to do so.

Stay locked to nss for any and all updates on the continuation of the Supreme Legal Fake story.

Photo credit: Fredrik Lindqvist