25 Brands Inspired by Barbara Kruger

The chicken or the egg scenario is relatable to the co-opted use of the Futura Heavy Oblique font against a red rectangular background. Barbara Kruger became known for it as her style in the art world, designing mantras that would read, “Talk is cheap,” and "I shop therefore I am.” Yet it would be Supreme, the skateboard lifestyle brand, that would make the red box logo world famous.

If necessity is the mother of invention, then Barbara Kruger birthed a nation of creators like Supreme. Walk down any street in New York City, and you'll inevitably stumble upon a sticker or screen-printed T-shirt inspired by her signature style. In 2010, Kruger collaborated with W Magazine covering Kim Kardashian’s nude unmentionables using her signature wit and sarcasm.

In 2009, Richard Prince asked Barbara Kruger in BOMB magazine about her work being produced or reproduced, where she said, "All work can be called reproductions to some degree, since it incorporates certain styles or codes which preceded it. I think the difference lies in the acknowledgment of previous production within the work." Think of Kruger with regards to what Jay-Z said on "Takeover"—"You made it a hot line, I made it a hot song." She's made a career out of layering images with sharp statements that have landed her exhibits at The Whitney Museum, MOCA, and in May, she's designing the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris. See 25 Brands Inspired by Barbara Kruger.

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Zoo York and Supreme are fam. The famous Ricky Powell flick of Aaron Bondaroff and Harold Hunter (RIP), who repped Supreme and Zoo York respectively, showed the bond between the two brands. To this day, the relationship between the two brands is still seen by Black Dave who rides for ZY and works at Supreme.

Zootednation is a lifestyle brand that claims to use top quality, organic materials for its products. Uh, #jetlife.

Hiroki Kimura of Sliceme loves him some pizza. The dude has a site dedicated to his love for the Italian delicacy with photos of him and pizza restaurateurs, chefs, and of him chowing down. That's amore!

It shouldn't be a surprise that someone would swap out the "r" for an "l" to poke fun at Asians. It's also not that hard to think that there are collectors who would track down one of these, but of course it doesn't justify the product. For the record, there is a more racially offensive version of Supleme that squints the "e."

Since 1994, the brand synonymous with counter culture has become a pop culture icon. Whether or not you credit Kruger as the OG, Supreme has been often imitated, never duplicated.

Imagine if Supreme made apparel customized just for your high school. Flattering as it would be, Lance Wong a student at Stuyvesant High School, did it himself in 2010. He started out screen-printing Stuylin' on a run of T-shirts, then a few students took it a step further by making hoodies.

Shortypop is the resourceful Niketalk member who parodied Supreme, then got broken off with a check. The value of her adaptation of Supreme's logo was deeper than the font she chose, because of the branded tees with a photo of herself and Miss Piggy—a reaction to the Kermit the Frog collection of tees in '08.

Good music and good times are universal themes that cross language barriers. Although the blog for the Shitxfaced crew from Stockholm is written in Swedish, that doesn't stop them from posting about Juicy J or Tyler, the Creator songs. Their taste in partying and music is akin to Mishka, which was common ground for them to collaborate in 2010 on the Drunken All-Stars pack (T-shirt, crewneck, etc.).

Apparently "free sex in the mouth is not a crime," according to the website by the same declaration. These stickers are doing it froggy style, taking a page out of Supreme's campaign from 2008.

Don King couldn't have booked a more sellable fight between Sexgoat and Billy Rohan. It was billed as "The Battle of the Box Logos" on YouTube. Sexgoat and Samurai's Billy Rohan shot their fair one last year. Could it have been over encroaching upon the usage of Kruger and Supreme's style? Ask yourself, do you really know what beef is?

The skateboard company started by Billy Rohan and Taji Ameen popped up last year. Their promo campaign was heavy, featuring 8 x 11-ish adhesive posters of female ninjas on the beach, Bill Clinton, and much smaller sticker versions of Dave Chappelle's Rick James and Tyrone Biggums.

Rag & Bone NYC has commissioned artists like TMNK to design the Elizabeth Street side of their store. Racked NY has a comprehensive document of all the artists in a GIF. However, when Supreme's Lady Gaga snipes hit the streets in 2011, they went over Rag & Bone's ads. Their response was putting red and black Rag & Bone stickers on Gaga's chest and hater blockers (sunglasses).

Platform is the Bronx retail shop for all your streetwear needs. They carry their own label, Mishka, SSUR, and of course, Supreme.

We know this much—a Morrissey sticker is aptly placed on top of the toilet paper in a men's bathroom stall at Sway Lounge NYC. One of the longest-running weekly Sunday night parties in Manhattan pays tribute to The Smiths and Steven Patrick Morrissey. The buck doesn't stop there—the monthly Mexican Morrissey party hosted by Angelo Baque takes place monthly at LIT Lounge. Stop me if you think you've heard this one before.

Street artist ME's interpretation cleverly writes itself. Another case where ME has let the two most important letters take precedent is a flip of the Mets logo on stickers and wheatpastes around NYC.

When you look at the male-dominated world of streetwear, it makes sense for MTTM to channel Barbara Kruger. Kruger has been outspoken though messages about the female body and pro-life vs. pro-choice. Married to the Mob's mantra as "the most official bitches" uses Kruger's message of empowerment to make the apparel's graphics unapologetic and sexy at the same damn time.

Curtis Kulig's LoveMe tag through the Futura Heavy Oblique filter, 'nuff said.

Between a flip of the USA Basketball logo and the YO! MTV Raps logos, the NYC-based clothing line has been one of the many upstart streetwear brands to channel Barbara Kruger.

Lemming NYC is arguably the best to take to the piss out of Supreme's devout custies. With the belief that Supreme's followers will flock to anything like the small rodents, Lemming remixed the Kate Moss snipes with their red box logo, along with a furry friend they would ogle like a Rihanna x Kate Moss love fest. Go to the Lemming site, and see if you don't see if you don't fit the bill of their genus.

Credits include Creative Director for advertising and marketing agency, Droga5, and the owner of the best iterations of Springfield in The Simpsons: Tapped Out.

CRKS (Can't Resist Killin Shit) was the abbreviation that bordered the back of last year's Crooks & Castle's snapback. Just like Drake, CRKS knows how to do right and kill everything.

Canibeat is a car, culture, and lifestyle magazine. In the automotive context, "Canibeat" has the tone of being aspirational—to reach the finish line, #winning. But there's no escaping the question "Can I Beat?" as low-hanging fruit, especially in frat boy circles (just saying).

Buttless Supreme is clever, respectable, and big in NYC streets. The name is obviously a humorous spin on Supreme New York. Open your ears a little more, because it sounds like another classic brand name, Oldsmobile's Cutlass Supreme. Stay up Buttsup.

Like Supreme, you'll find the alife logo in big, bold letters at the entrance of their storefront and on many of their products. Their lowercase text logo is interchanged between the lowercase and the all caps. If you dig enough, you might even find a few red box logos with JEST, named after one of the brand's co-owners. Those are due for a resurrection in light of alife's scheduled comeback this April.