James Jebbia
Founder of Supreme
James Jebbia is the founder of Supreme, the New York skate and streetwear brand he opened on Lafayette Street in 1994. He turned it into a global streetwear label known for limited drops and collaborations, and continues to lead it under EssilorLuxottica, which bought Supreme in 2024.
| Role | Founder of Supreme |
|---|---|
| Born | 1963 |
| Founded | Supreme, April 1994, New York |
| Owner since 2024 | EssilorLuxottica |
| Known for | Drop model, streetwear collaborations |
Who is James Jebbia?
James Jebbia, born in 1963, is the founder of Supreme, the brand that helped turn skateboarding and street culture into a central force in global fashion. Raised in England, he moved to New York, where he worked in retail before opening the first Supreme store in Manhattan in April 1994.
Career
Jebbia's first job in New York was at the SoHo boutique Parachute in 1983. In 1989 he became manager of the streetwear store Union NYC, and in the early 1990s he worked with Shawn Stussy on the Stüssy store in New York. In 1994 he opened Supreme on Lafayette Street, a skate shop with its own clothing line. As of 2021 Supreme operated 14 stores worldwide, a deliberately small network for a brand of its global reach.
- 1994: founds Supreme on Lafayette Street, New York
- 2017: collaboration with Louis Vuitton shown at Paris Fashion Week
- 2020: VF Corporation acquires Supreme for 2.1 billion dollars
- 2024: EssilorLuxottica agrees to buy Supreme from VF for 1.5 billion dollars; Jebbia remains with the brand
Influence on the fashion business
Supreme popularised the drop model: small quantities of new products released at regular intervals, creating queues outside stores, rapid sell-outs and a large resale market. The approach has since been copied across fashion, from sportswear to luxury. Supreme's collaborations with artists such as Damien Hirst and Takashi Murakami, and its 2017 collaboration with Louis Vuitton, helped dissolve the boundary between streetwear and luxury.
The brand's sale to VF in 2020, which bought out outside investors and Jebbia himself, and its subsequent sale to EssilorLuxottica in 2024, made Supreme a reference case for the valuation of streetwear brands. EssilorLuxottica chief executive Francesco Milleri said the group would work to preserve Supreme's identity, and Jebbia continues to manage the business.
Why it matters
Jebbia's career demonstrates how scarcity, community and cultural credibility can build a brand with global reach and multi-billion-dollar valuations. Many of the marketing techniques now standard in fashion, including limited drops, hype-driven launches and cross-industry collaborations, were refined at Supreme. Its move into the portfolio of an eyewear group also shows how large companies are using culturally relevant brands to reach younger audiences.
Frequently asked questions
Who is James Jebbia?
James Jebbia is the founder of Supreme, which he opened as a skate shop on Lafayette Street in New York in 1994. He continues to manage the brand under its owner EssilorLuxottica.
Who owns Supreme?
EssilorLuxottica bought Supreme from VF Corporation for 1.5 billion dollars in 2024. VF had acquired the brand for 2.1 billion dollars in 2020.