So the throw down between Supreme and Married to the Mob has officially blown up. For those of you looking to catch up, the story broke Monday with a New York Mag story detailing Supreme’s decision to sue Leah McSweeney, founder and owner of Married to the Mob over use of the Supreme Bitch logo for infringing upon trademark rights. Here’s an excerpt:

[Leah McSweeney's] first T-shirt was a sort of homage: supreme bitch written in the Supreme (via Kruger) style. Jebbia carried the shirts in Union, another store he owned. As Supreme’s fortunes multiplied, so did Supreme Bitch. Rihanna posted pictures of herself in a Supreme Bitch cap. Karmaloop and Urban Outfitters have sold Supreme Bitch items. In January, McSweeney took what would be a normal step for an upstart clothing label: She filed a trademark application for Supreme Bitch. Two months later, Supreme sued McSweeney for $10 million and demanded she remove the offending items from retailers.

Also worthy reads for further detail: Complex breaks down the lawsuit; A statement from Leah McSweeney; Gabriella from Miss weighs in on legalities; and Barbara Kruger, the original artist who inspired the Supreme logo, responds with an epic description: “Cluster fuck of totally uncool jokers.” (And yes, there’s already a tee shirt!)

You guys who follow us know we have always supported McSweeney. She basically epitomizes the spirit of what we consider to be a Snobette chick. Plus we have always been committed to fierce independent female entrepreneurs and that is McSweeney to a tee. That said we have no idea how this case is going to work out. It’s pretty impressive that famed civil rights attorney Norman Siegal has chosen to take on the case, that is for sure.

And maybe we’re biased but we do think from a public sentiment perspective this was a major misstep on Supreme’s part and a pulling back of a curtain that is going to expose a side of the company it’s done a very good job of hiding over the years. All legalities aside, from a strictly streets perspective you don’t bless Supreme Bitch when the scene is in its youthful we’re-all-in-this-together-non-money-hungry phase, but then decide nine years later when you only care about making more millions that, wait a second, it’s not okay, Imma crush you like a bug. Especially when so much of your brand has been built on thieving and copying in order to make you seem cool and edgy. Because of that this is a public relation’s nightmare for Supreme (and comments on the various sneaker boy blogs bear this out). We have mixed feelings about Supreme, but basically we’re like, ’bout time, this take down was a long time coming. And hahaha, they should’ve known better than to take on McSweeney ’cause that bish NEVER backs down from a fight nor does she ever give an eff or let anyone intimidate her.

And beyond the specifics of this fight, mark my words this case marks a turning point for streetwear as we know it. It’s the end of an era and an entering into a new phase, people, with Supreme leading the charge. And no it’s not a pretty or nice one. Sort of sad but this is how these things work.

First white (sold out), then camo (sold out), now Married to the Mob has offered the “Queen Bee” snapback in ebony. But it in the MTTM shop and we suggest you do not wait because guaranteed it is going to sell out, too. (And yes, that’s the ever gorgeous Sarah giving you the finger in the image above.)

The first Vans x Supreme collab for 2013 will make you wish we were going into Summer all over again! A few weeks ago we showed you Supreme’s lookbook for Spring/Summer 2013 in which the brand released pants and sweaters in one of the most well executed floral prints of recent times. New Order fans rejoiced, as the print itself was taken from the album artwork to Power, Corruption and Lies designed by Peter Saville.

“…utilizing original album artwork from New Order’s iconic 1983 release Power, Corruption & Lies. The album’s cover was designed by English art director Peter Saville and incorporates the 19th century painting “A Basket of Roses” by French artist Henri Fantin-Latour.

The sneakers drop instore and online March 7th.

Get a more detailed look on the sneakers after the jump.

The Spring/Summer 2013 Collection of Supremebeing is designed for those who appreciate quality & simplicity of design combined with an inspired color palette and bespoke fabrics. Warm, rich colours will ensure you’ll be dressed with style & easy poise.The Lookbook was produced and shot by London creative team at Copson St.

Take a look at the full lookbook in the on the next page.

Married to the Mob’s “Supreme Bitch” snapback cap was high on HighSnobette’s list of “Best of 2012,” and we’re partnering with the brand on a giveaway for a camo version of the cap shown above (sorry ladies, the white one Rihanna wore is history).  If you would like to be considered for a cap, Tweet @LeahMob and give your best definition of a Supreme Bitch. Be sure and tag your post with #SupremeBitch. The best definition wins a free camo “Supreme Bitch” cap! Good luck to you. xo

What we have always loved about fashion is it’s potential to bring joy. We as HighSnobette editors feel so lucky to not only have witnessed many of these special moments but to also have come to know and watch grow many of the artists and designers behind some of our favorite projects. Below in no particular order we share what we regard as some of the best, joy-bringing efforts of 2012:

Designer Melody Ehsani’s star has been on the rise for quite some time now, but her “Queen of the Jungle” necklace (above) in many ways stamped her official arrival. We lost count of the stylish celebrities spotted in this vivacious fun piece.

Leah McSweeney has always been a force of personality. She literally is the MTTM brand, as backed by an intensely loyal supporting staff + fan base. Like many young brands the label went through its stumbles when investors pulled out, but the tenacious McSweeney was able to hold on to the name and this year the label found its own inimitable stride again, as marked by the brand’s “Supreme Bitch” snapback cap, which received the blessing of none other mega-style star Rihanna.

See many more “bests” on the next page. And a very Happy New Year to all. Thank you so much for your support in 2012.

Let’s see if we can’t connect the dots between all the “Supreme Bitch” references that have been flying around as of late, starting with last week when we posted an image of designer Tanaya Henry wearing MTTM’s “Supreme Bitch” snapback cap. We also mentioned the same white cap Henry was sporting was originally spotted on Rihanna. You can see all that back story here. Fast forward to this past weekend and it appears a Rihanna fan sent her the above graphic, which she subsequently Tweeted. And as we already reported, the white MTTM “Supreme Bitch” snapback is of course long sold out, but have no fear, the camo version is now available for pre-order here.

On another note, Rihanna as per usual has been Tweeting up a storm while on vacation in Bermuda. See a smoking hot image of her in a swimsuit titled “Your Fave” on the next page–not sure if it’s yet another hidden message to her on-again-off-again paramour, but just observing from very far, I can’t help but think–darned if the love affairs that miss by an inch aren’t the most painful to extract oneself from! You’re like, but we can do this! We’re so close! But nope, that inch may as well be a billion miles. Pure torture. On a positive note, those are indeed the ones you learn the most from, but oh what a painful lesson.

Lace by Tanaya designer, Tanaya Henry flashed her very own MTTM “Supreme Bitch” snapback–the same one Rihanna was photographed wearing–on her Twitter account last night. And if you are guessing any item worn publicly by Rihanna is now long sold out, you would be correct. However, there is lots of great merch still available in the MOB store, like one of our classic faves, the “My Girls Rock Balenciaga & Smoke Mad Marijuana,” now available on a crew neck body.

The ad here by British cosmetics company Illmasqua is being described as racist, in that it features a model in blackface, which has been used in performance to create a stereotyped charicature of a black person. The tophat and bowtie further support the typical look of a blackface costume. Despite a barrage of criticism the company as of yesterday continued to defend the ad (though interestingly the blackface side is not longer on its Facebook page), and made the following statement:

We thank and acknowledge your comments regarding the above image. Obviously it was never our intention to cause offence; Illamasqua has always celebrated the right to self-expression and we continually push creative and artistic boundaries, priding ourselves on working with models of many ethnic backgrounds to reinforce this point.

In covering this industry over the years it’s been my observation that people/companies often react defensively to accusations of racist behavior–which is understandable, it’s a very heavy charge to bear, no one wants to be the uncool racist guy or gal. When pointed at they respond with statements like, oh, I don’t see people based on their color or no harm was meant or this is art. But systemic racism is much bigger, more subtle and ultimately more damaging than over the top hate speech. Big picture it’s about supporting and helping to maintain a system of power, aka white supremecy.

You see tribute to the system reflected on runways, in editorials, ads and in disdain for streetwear that gets turned on its head when the same looks are shown on a runway. The vitriolic response to Kanye West’s showing in Paris was in part based in racism. And of course it’s shown in power at the top, who runs the most monied fashion companies and then too, those in charge of the most storied–Europe’s Haute Couture houses.

At this point in history, waving racism away because it wasn’t intended is a feeble excuse, especially for well educated and cultured fashion industry bigwigs, who like to pride themselves for their progressive view points. We all make mistake and stumble, life is a learning process, but in general this industry could do a lot better.

Rihanna lands the cover of Billboard magazine’s November 24th issue,which includes a feature breaking down the singer’s many accomplishments. According to the article, “every November for the past four years, Rihanna has released a million selling album.” What’s suprising is that none of those have reached No. 1 on Billboard’s charts so the question is whether or not Unapologetic will be her first.

Since the article was written, Rihanna’s song “Diamonds” hit No. 1 on the Hot 100 chart, tying the 24-year old with Madonna and the Supremes who also have 12 chart toppers. The three artists who have had more No. 1s are Michael Jackson, with 13, Mariah Carey, 18, and the Beatles, 20. On a side note, who would ever guess Carey has more hits than Jackson?