“The clothier Alexander Julian once quipped that imitation is the sincerest form of aggravation. In the years after he designed the inaugural uniforms, in 1988, for the Charlotte Hornets, his purple and teal—especially the teal—started popping up on everyone from the Detroit Pistons to the San Jose Sharks and the Jacksonville Jaguars.
“The streetwear label Supreme, founded six years after Julian’s colors débuted, loves both mischievous appropriation and nineties pop culture, so it’s not hard to see where it got the idea to drop a Hornets-inspired basketball jersey last year. That’s an easy reference to spot, but not every Supreme graphic and logo design has an origin that is so simple to place. Enter the Instagram account Supreme Copies….”
— From “Supreme Copies: The Instagram That Attempts to Decode Supreme Clothing” by Melvin Backman in the New Yorker (June 1)