French auction house Artcurial will soon be holding the world's biggest Supreme auction to date. Dubbed C.R.E.A.M (Cash Rules Everything Around Me), after Wu-Tang Clan’s 1994 classic single, the event is designed to explore 30 years of New York's urban culture through the lens of the celebrated streetwear label, Business of Fashion points out.
“The idea of the auction is to paint a landscape of three decades starting in the late 1980s,” says Fabien Naudan, vice chairman of Artcurial, who himself has secured each piece that will be up for auction. “The first decade was when street artists, skateboarders and DJ’s were experimenting [with art] without the idea of doing it for money, the next decade was when it became a business and the third one was the final step when it turned into a cash-out decade.”
Included within the 150 lots are rare Supreme items ranging from box logo tees, to collaborative Damien Hirst skate decks, motorcycle helmets, basketballs, nunchucks, and unsurprisingly, Supreme x Louis Vuitton. In addition, the auction will offer artwork by a number of Supreme's collaborators, such as KAWS, Takashi Murakami, and George Condo.
“It’s about telling a story, and that can’t only be defined by art, so I think of sneakers, records, skateboards, fashion and even the humbler objects that tell a lot about this street culture,” Naudan concluded. “Fashion will have a more important place in the art market in the future for sure, especially when pieces are changing society. [And] I think that companies like Supreme have changed society a little bit. Its products are social markers. Today everyone knows what a box logo is.”
For more on Artcurial's upcoming Supreme auction, beginning May 16, visit Business of Fashion.
Now, find out why Kai Bent-Lee is selling his huge stash of Supreme box logo pieces.
