Everyone knows that President Trump’s administration is anti-liberal. Built on false fronts and unsubstantiated slogans, it depends on the rebranding of his pre-established reputation as a businessman. In terms of ideology and policy, he, or more likely someone on his team, has taken to the history books, copying tactics from the most generic of tyrants. These come packaged in a guise of working class sympathy. In other words he is lazy and lacks originality. It may come as a shock, then, that Supreme, the supposed vanguard of liberal, anti-elite fashion, has followed a similar line in its most recent high fashion collaboration with Louis Vuitton. 

​

The skate brands sudden elevation into the sphere of high fashion severely undermines its original vision, and betrays its loyal following. Supreme began in the ‘90s as a call-sign for fellow NYC skaters and its first store gave like-minded outcasts a space to get along. The designs were artistic, original and affordable. Louis Vuitton, on the other hand, has always been the symbol of luxury, wealth and, today more often than not, a lack of original taste, at least on the behalf of the consumer. 

​

Just like Trump, Supreme have put their immensely popular logo on an old design. In doing so they have cast out the loyal outcasts, preferring to supply to the super rich instead – remind you of anyone? The most memorable piece of the collaboration is the rebranded trunk. Originally a symbol of the highest of high luxury and belle-époque pomp, it remains unchanged, only with the addition of a big fat bogo and, according to several reports, a $68,500 price tag.

​

Sadly, this is just the beginning. Just as populist politics is sweeping the rest of the world, similarly acrid trends are likely to spring up throughout the fashion industry. January's LFW Men's shows gave us a preview: more celebrity-designers were included in the schedule and many of the mainstays subsidised their designs with slogans and branding. Who knows what will come next? Palace x Gucci? But don’t laugh just yet – in these times nobody knows what monstrosities may lurk around the corner.

​

[images: highsnobiety.com]