Breaking Down Supreme SS25: Key Collaborators, Callbacks, and References

Damien Hirst’s Freaky Formaldehyde Sculptures

One of the most high-profile collaborations of the latest Supreme season is with artist Damien Hirst. His works are featured across various coats, sweaters, zip-up hoodies, short sleeve button-ups, soccer jerseys, T-shirts, painter pants, shorts, trays, and skate decks.

The two Hirst works in use are his 1991 “The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living” and his 2009 “Black Sheep With the Golden Horns.” Both employ the artist’s trademark practice of preserving animal sculptures in glass cases filled with formaldehyde.

This is not the first time Hirst has collaborated with Supreme. In 2009, the British artist's iconic Spot paintings covered a set of skate decks and accentuated one of the streetwear brand’s signature Box Logo T-shirts that is still incredibly valuable to this day.

Nautical Nonsense With SpongeBob SquarePants x Jeff Hamilton

Supreme is also getting in on the 25th anniversary celebration for SpongeBob SquarePants. The absorbent sea creature appears across various Castelli cycling gear like tops, racing bibs, caps, water bottles, and socks. The standout SpongeBob items are the two twill racing jackets (ironic considering SpongeBob can’t even get his driver’s license) made in collaboration with Jeff Hamilton. Each features an angry-eyed SpongeBob on the chest. His pals Patrick, Squidward, and Sandy also make an appearance.

Everyone knows Hamilton for his iconic leather jackets, but you may not know that he also produced NASCAR’s jackets from 1993 to 2004, which gives this one an extra layer of storytelling. This is the second official collab between Supreme and Hamilton. The first was an intricate leather jacket back in 2022.

The Iconic Artwork of Ernie Barnes

The late artist’s iconic painting, The Sugar Shack, can be spotted on fleece jackets, short-sleeve shirts, jorts, a camp cap, and a skate deck set. Check out Complex Style’s Instagram for our full breakdown of this particular collab.

YaTuSabe’s Bespoke Denim

YaTuSabe is a Brooklyn-based brand that has developed a cult-like following throughout New York’s five boroughs for its detailed bespoke denim since 2019. That momentum got YaTuSabe’s Matthew Valdez on the Supreme design team’s radar and he has been designing a handful of pieces from season to season since Fall/Winter 2023. For SS25, YaTuSabe contributed two jean designs: One features topstitched stars across each leg that spell out “Supreme,” while the other opts for asymmetrical stripes. Each is available in three colorways. Make sure to peep YaTuSabe’s web store for even more amazing designs.

Shaun Crawford's Devilish Patchwork

Shaun Crawford is another New York City artist that has become a go-to collaborator for Supreme over the past few years. This season, Crawford’s contributions include a hooded work shirt and snapbacks covered in woven patches including various takes on his devilish Skip character, as well as a sweatsuit embroidered with barking pitbull heads.

AOI’s Embroidered Masterpieces

This writer’s personal favorite items from Supreme SS25 were created with the help of Japanese manufacturer AOI Industry. AOI’s masterful embroidered artwork has been featured on Supreme pieces since 2019. This time, it covers the back of hooded work jackets and camp caps. Additionally, nylon jackets feature graphics of a K-9 police dog unit on the back. The attention to detail on these are the types of things that turn into grails a few years down the line.

A Callback to 2012

Longtime Supreme customers or well-studied younger fans will surely remember the brand’s Last Supper hoodie from 2012. While we aren’t getting an exact retro of the popular piece this season, it appears that the brand has referenced one of Da Vinci’s most iconic paintings again this season. The Last Supper appears on lace shirts, is embroidered across the shoulders of zip-up hoodies, and wraps leather belts.

A Piece of Graffiti History

An anorak and T-shirt feature an all-over print of Twyla Tharpe’s Deuce Coupe taken by photographer Herbert Migdoll. Tharpe’s ballet, which premiered in Chicago in 1973, is known as the first performance to blend classical ballet with contemporary dance. It wasn’t just the dancing that was modernized—Tharpe also commissioned the United Graffiti Artists, a NYC-based collective formed in 1972, to create the backdrop live on stage every night. Graffiti has always been a key pillar of Supreme’s designs, and the brand continues to find new ways to incorporate it year after year. Maybe this will even put some people onto ballet in the process.

Pandasex’s Homage to the Dream Team

Few basketball jerseys have the level of historical significance that the ones donned by the 1992 Dream Team do. Rather than just fuse its branding into the existing design, Supreme took a bit of an unconventional approach this time around. It tapped Bay Area artist Pandasex to make it look like it was drawn with a marker. Jerseys and shorts will both be up for grabs. If you don’t think you can pull off a markered jersey but still love the idea, there’s also a little jersey-shaped money pouch keychain.

Sean Cliver’s Latest Provocative Artwork

Sean Cliver is known for his provocative illustrations, which Supreme has been featuring since 2008. This season, the two reconnect on a graphic T-shirt depicting a giant gorilla taking a peep at a naked woman through a bedroom window. While still suggestive, it’s far from the most controversial Cliver art we’ve seen used by Supreme before, if you can believe that

Long Live Doom

If you look closely at the artwork by Mario Ayala on the Receiver Tee, you’ll notice a nod to MF Doom’s classic album Operation: Doomsday. That classic car stereo interface is a nice blast from the past.

Western Beef

Supreme's obscure tributes to its home city are some of the best easter eggs to spot each season. While this cap likely won’t be as sought after as some of the other callouts on this list, it’s fun to see Supreme do a logo flip of the supermarket chain Western Beef. New Yorkers will recognize that smiling cactus. Its motto, “We Know The Neighborhood,” is even stitched on the back. Nice touch.