Who doesn’t know them, the stories of missed opportunities in the collecting world that are more often than not received with pain-distorted faces and rolled eyes? Stories of how someone was offered a Ferrari 250 GT ‘Short Wheelbase’ or a painting by Sigmar Polke in the 1980s for the equivalent of a child’s bike and, of course, they politely declined. Unfortunately, we can’t travel into the future and study sports results or auction prices for historical goods that will one day be in great demand. However, you could buy sneakers, tracksuits or skateboards on an industrial scale.
To be honest, Supreme is not an insider’s tip. Founded as a small skateboard shop in New York in 1994, the brand has grown into a billion-dollar company and a global luxury phenomenon. Supreme can stick its name on anything today and rest assured in the knowledge it will sell it – so long as the branding is prevalent. A Supreme paving stone originally retailed for 30 US dollars is now traded by collectors for over 1,000 dollars. And when the brand had its lettering printed on an issue of the New York Post, people camped outside news kiosks to buy boxes of issues. In January of 2019, 248 Supreme skateboards were auctioned for 800,000 dollars.
Inspired by this success, Bonhams is now also bringing a collection of 152 Supreme skateboards to auction. The decks from 2008–2019 will be offered on 15 February as part of its ‘Post-War & Contemporary Art’ sale. The pre-sale estimate attached by Bonhams is a conservative 120,000–180,000 dollars. We’re genuinely curious to see what the final figure is when the hammer drops.
Photos: Bonhams
