Anti Social Social Club Fell From Grace & Landed Next to Martha Stewart
Once upon a time, Anti Social Social Club was the world's hottest streetwear outfit. Now, it's owned by the company that operates Martha Stewart and Emeril Lagasse's namesake brands. Funny how these things happen.
According to a report, Anti Social Social Club (ASSC) has been snapped up for an undisclosed sum by license-hungry Marquee Brands, the overseer of the aforementioned celebrity properties, Ben Sherman, and BCBG Max Azria.
The ASSC purchase follows a recent string of high-profile, streetwear-leaning acquisitions made by other management firms like Authentic Brand Group (Reebok) and VF Corp (Supreme).
“Our plan is to let ASSC be ASSC – with no intent to change the brand DNA, values, or culture,” Marquee Brands chief executive Neil Fiske said in a statement, a strikingly similar sentiment to what VF Corp CEO Steve Rendle said when his company scooped up Supreme.
It's a strategy that clearly ain't broken, so why fix? This kinda stuff tends to sell itself, as Rendle explained.
Highsnobiety has also reached out to an ASSC representative for comment on the acquisition.
Founded in 2015 by NikeTalk forum member Neek Lurk (real name Andrew Buenaflor), ASSC was quickly co-signed by tastemakers like Kanye West, Kim Kardashian, and RSVP Gallery, the boutique opened by Don C and Virgil Abloh. In seducing these cultural titans, ASSC swiftly became the de facto streetwear brand of the post-Tumblr Instagram era.
Drops of printed hoodies and tchotchkes sold-out in seconds to an eager fanbase, who then quickly turned rabid after shipments became sluggish and Lurk started posting Instagram photos with some pricey new cars (new management eventually took over; Lurk's current role with ASSC, if any, is unknown).
Collections kept selling out, though, amped up by countless collaborations and a newfound streak of self-awareness, teasing frustrated fans thinking of jumping off the bandwagon — ASSC even issued collaborations with USPS and DHL, pointedly reminding longtime fans of shipping woes.
Despite fading relevance among the larger streetwear set, ASSC has a stranglehold on a small, but dedicated, following and has no issue keeping product moving. Especially in China, where a fresh following of young fans keep sales brisk, ASSC is perfectly comfortable with the current size of its flock.
With that in mind, ASSC makes more sense on the Marquee Brands roster; it specializes in brands that do reliably brisk business, with or without a cache of clout.
