James Jebbia (born July 22, 1963) is an American-British businessman, fashion designer and former child actor. He is known for being the founder of the skateboarding shop and clothing brand Supreme.

James Jebbia
Born (1963-07-22) July 22, 1963 (age 61)
New York City, U.S.
Nationality
  • American
  • British[1]
Occupations
  • fashion designer
  • businessman
Years active1977–present
Known forFounder of Supreme
SpouseBianca Jebbia
Children2

Early life

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James Jebbia was born on July 22, 1963, in the United States. His American father was formerly in the United States Air Force, and his English mother was a former teacher. His parents divorced when he was around 10 years old.[1]

At the age of one, Jebbia moved from the U.S. to Crawley, West Sussex in the United Kingdom.[1] In 1983, when he was 19 years-old, Jebbia moved back to the United States, settling in Staten Island, New York City.[1][2]

Career

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The logo of Supreme, the company Jebbia founded in 1994

In the late 1970s, Jebbia worked as a child actor. He played the role of Tommy Watson in the first series of Grange Hill.[3]

In 1983, at the age of 19, Jebbia worked his first job in New York at Parachute, a minimalist skate shop and clothing store located in SoHo, Manhattan.[4] A few years later, in 1989, he worked as the manager of the streetwear store, Union NYC, which carried mainly English clothing brands.[4] Its first store opened in 1989 on Spring Street in Manhattan, and later closed in 2009.[5] From 1991 to 1994, Jebbia partnered with Shawn Stussy, the founder of the clothing brand, Stüssy.[4]

In 1994, Jebbia founded the clothing brand and skateboarding shop Supreme, and opened its first store on Lafayette Street in Manhattan. Among his earliest designs was a cut-and-sew pair of tiger-stripe cargo pants.[6] As of 2021, Supreme has 14 locations worldwide. Locations include: New York City, Brooklyn, Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles, London, Paris, Milan, Berlin and Japan (Harajuku, Shibuya, Daikanyama, Nagoya, Osaka, and Fukuoka).[7]

Over the years, Jebbia has collaborated with high-profile artists, such as Damien Hirst, Takashi Murakami and Richard Prince.[4] In 2017, Supreme collaborated with Louis Vuitton for their debut collection during Paris Fashion Week.[8]

Personal life

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Jebbia is married to Bianca Jebbia and has two children. He resides in Lower Manhattan's West Village in New York City.[1]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e Williams, Alex (21 November 2012). "Guerrilla Fashion: The Story of Supreme". The New York Times. Retrieved 5 December 2017.
  2. ^ "50 Things You Didn't Know About Supreme". Complex. Retrieved 5 December 2017.
  3. ^ Haynes, Tom (17 January 2022). "Grange Hill actor James Jebbia went on to found a worldwide fashion brand". MyLondon.
  4. ^ a b c d "James Jebbia is One of the 500 People Shaping the Global Fashion Industry in 2017". The Business of Fashion. Retrieved 5 December 2017.
  5. ^ Fischer, David (24 July 2009). "Union NYC Closes Its Doors". Highsnobiety. Retrieved 24 July 2021.
  6. ^ Johnson, Noah (26 July 2019). "A Rare Interview with Supreme's James Jebbia". GQ. Retrieved 27 October 2020.
  7. ^ "Supreme stores". www.supremenewyork.com. Retrieved 18 March 2018.
  8. ^ "James Jebbia: What You Need to Know About the Supreme Founder". Highsnobiety. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
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