Supreme's Spring 2022 collection pays tribute to Roy DeCarava, the legendary Harlem-born photographer whose shadowy, deeply human images documented Black life in New York City for over six decades. Working directly with the DeCarava Archives, the drop has a hooded sweatshirt and two T-shirts showcasing the work of an artist who literally changed what was possible in photography. DeCarava, who passed away in 2009, started as a painter before becoming the first African American photographer to win a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1952. His distinctive style - underexposed, printed dark, incredibly moody - influenced generations of image-makers.
Beyond his striking photographs, DeCarava was a true community builder. He opened The Photographer's Gallery in 1955, the first U.S. gallery dedicated solely to fine art photography, and spent decades teaching at Hunter College. His collaboration with Langston Hughes on The Sweet Flypaper of Life remains one of the most important photobooks ever made, blending DeCarava's images with Hughes' fictional narrative about a Harlem grandmother.
What makes this collaboration particularly meaningful: all profits from the collection will go directly to the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in Harlem. The collection drops May 19th in the U.S. and May 21st in Japan.
