Following the success of its previous collaboration with Stone Island, Supreme is back with a new Spring 2022 collection, this time with the Roy DeCarava Archives. The streetwear company has created a range of t-shirts and hooded sweatshirts in tribute to the legendary Harlem-born photographer Roy DeCarava.
The Supreme’s Roy DeCarava collection will be available on May 19, at 11 a.m. EDT in the United States, and on May 21, at 11 a.m. JST in Japan. The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in Harlem will get all earnings from the sale of the Roy DeCarava collection, according to the fashion company.
Supreme has dedicated its Spring 2022 collection to the iconic photographer Roy DeCarava.
The collection, like the majority of the label’s partnerships, emphasizes the label’s importance beyond fashion. The streetwear company delves deeply into DeCarava’s work before putting it on shirts and hoodies, keeping its own branding to a minimum. The collection includes two distinct print t-shirts and a sweatshirt that pays respect to the icon’s previous work. The sweatshirt is available in five different colors: black, blue, tangerine, mint green, and white. They have a back print of Malcolm X, who was photographed in 1964. Each outerwear piece will cost $158.
The first tee in the series displays the Malcolm X photograph, while the other shirt has DeCarava’s signature work. His work, which is astonishingly basic, impactful, and dramatic, is shown on four distinct colored t-shirts. The shirts are made from black, light blue, green, and white materials. The t-shirt will cost $44 when it is released.
DeCarava’s art was described as “the finest of both worlds.”
In 1919, Roy DeCarava was born in Harlem, New York. For over 60 years, the artist captured delicate, evocative images of life in his homeland and abroad. He characterized the art as follows:
“Art is the pinnacle of communication because it seeks to be the absolute sole consideration, and hence as pure, immaculate, and valuable as possible.”
Roy DeCarava / Supreme
国内5月21日(土) 発売予定https://t.co/jBXUUucSw7 pic.twitter.com/5tGTryxrNy— DR-mag (@DR_mag_TOKYO) May 17, 2022
Before moving to photography, DeCarava mastered painting, etching, and freehand drawing, first using a camera as a creative tool for painting. In the late 1940s, he began generating interesting, dark silver gelatin prints, opening the door for new technical possibilities in modern photography. The artist’s photographs were originally shown in New York in 1950. In 1952, he became the first African-American photographer to earn a John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship. Thanks to the Fellowship, DeCarava was able to launch The Sweet Flypaper of Life, a rich and pioneering collaboration with poet Langston Hughes. Hughes used a few of his photographs to construct a dramatic imaginary story presented through the perspective of Harlem’s grandmother, Sister Mary Bradley.
DeCarava published The Sound I Saw, a handmade artist’s book on his engagement in New York City’s expanding entertainment sector, in 1960. Throughout his life, Roy promoted high art photography and supported a new generation of photographers.
Roberta Smith, a prominent art critic, remarked on Roy’s work, stating,
“DeCarava’s art is a combination of the finest of both worlds. Visually demanding while being incalculably sensitive to the human condition and the psychology of daily existence, with a focus on but not restricted to African-Americans.”
