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The Story Behind Supreme’s Obama-themed Pieces

By February 14, 2017Fashion News




Supreme Spring/ Summer 2017 Collection got even more controversial.

We date back to 2009, when the then new President, Barack Obama, visited Ghana. To commemorate the visit, locals produced many ‘Kangas’ which is a traditional large piece of textile with vibrant patterns and political graphics. The Kangas had ”Akwaaba” (which means ”Welcome”) written across the garment. The New York brand changed it to ”Supreme”. Some fans noticed the similarities, some accused the brand of appropriating traditional African culture without giving credit where it was due, some argued that Supreme was only paying homage to the original design and some took to twitter:


Many do not remember that an actress Victoria Rowells also wore the original ”Akwaaba” dress to the Emmy Awards back in 2009.

Was this Supreme’s way of paying homage or did they just copy the traditional design? Let us know what you think.




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