Interview: Angelo Baque
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We often like to introduce you to the people making our favorite produce. Angelo is one of the people making Supreme one of our favorite brands. Photography, art direction and marketing are his specialties, but ‘whatever it takes’ feels like a better job title.
As popular as Supreme is in our world, there aren’t many names that you can tie directly to the brand, without personally knowing them. The tightly knit family works hard to keep things cohesive and at the highest quality possible, from the collection, to the last look book to the marketing and collaborations. We wanted to dig a little deeper to find out more about the process behind the scenes of one our times most special brands.
Angelo Baque is one of those guys you’ve probably seen around different blogs, maybe in London or Paris, but most likely New York. He lives and breathes New York, and so does Supreme - so it only makes sense he’s one of the guys keeping the brand on point season after season. Photography, art direction and marketing are Angelo’s specialties, but ‘whatever it takes’ feels like a better job title.
Writer
—Ryan Willms
Photographer
—Rafael Rios
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You’ve grown up in different boroughs around New York, but always in New York. Does that make you feel like more of an insider or outsider in today’s global ‘scene’?
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Without a doubt it makes me feel like an insider. Not to come across as a jaded or asshole New Yorker but everything starts here and trickles down to the rest of the world. All eyes are on NY when it comes to fashion, art and music. Being born and raised in NY always gives me a sense that I have an extra step. -
After being at the center of this culture for a long time, now that the commercial world has recently adopted it, do you think it’s changed for the better or worse?
I feel like this is one of those catch-22 questions. It is always good for some type of commercial involvement in an independent scene whether it be music, art, or fashion because at some point people need to make income in order to keep it their work going. Nobody starts a band just for their friends to listen to. They want an audience to appreciate the work. The problem arises when said artists participating in each medium let the powers that be dictate their work. The end result is the bastardization of the culture. Suddenly one day you walk into Kmart and you see all over printed hoodies on the rack and Souljah Boy is playing in the background. 2 of 5 -
Now that you’ve been at Supreme for a little while, working as marketing/art director and whatever else needs to happen at the time. How would you describe your roll to somebody you haven’t met before?
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My official title is Director of Marketing for Supreme. Now that does not means my duties at Supreme are limited to only matters that deal with marketing. I have art directed and styled every shoot domestically coming out of Supreme. In regards to brand consulting I have been able to utilize my opinion when it comes to help steer which way we should go. A lot of the video content you see on the website have been conceptualized by me and directed by Jake Davis. I also have the freedom to express and contribute to the collection by proposing to work with artists or companies that I feel are dope at the time. -
When you decided to take Supreme online with sales, how did you find the initial reaction? Do you feel it’s necessary for the brand today?
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It would be naive for Supreme as a brand not to venture into online sales. Of course there will be the purists that say we are watering the brand down but they fail to realize we are still producing the same numbers. We also do not offer the complete collection online. We still want people to come to the store and have a unique shopping experience. Its about time we give that kid in Michigan a shot at getting a camp cap it he wants to and not be at the mercy of a reseller on EBay. -
There has been a lot more talk about heritage brands that produce in North American but sell in the Japanese fashion market, while Supreme isn’t exactly a heritage brand, the Japanese market is undeniable. Even the Supreme Book is all in Japanese – has the Asian direction been apart of Supreme from the start, or more tailored as it became more evident?
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Supreme has never tailored to anyone with the exception of the first generation of the Supreme crew. From that point on there was a mid-nineties movement going on in Japan that was gravitating and consuming this movement in NY and it gave Supreme the opportunity as a company to grow and expand. I feel the reason Supreme has been able to stay relevant after 15 years is because it has never tried to be something its not. I can proudly say since I have been at Supreme the word "trend" has never come up in a meeting.
It has to make sense. You ideally want to work with a company that is the best in their field or has a common bond with the culture. Since there had been an over saturation of collaborations in the market it is even more important than ever for our projects to have meaning.—
