Obey (clothing brand)
| Obey | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Type | Private |
| Industry | Clothing |
| Genre | Streetwear |
| Founded | 2001 |
| Founder | Shepard Fairey |
| Headquarters | Irvine, California, U.S. |
Area served | Worldwide |
| Products | General apparel for men and women |
| Brands | Obey Giant, Studio number one, Subliminal projects |
| Website | obeyclothing |
Obey Clothing (stylized in all caps) is an American streetwear company founded in 2001 by street artist and illustrator Shepard Fairey.
History
[edit]The logo and image that the brand is most associated with dates back to an image Fairey created in 1989[1][2] which was an image of Andre the Giant[2] with the text reading "Andre the Giant Has a Posse".[2] The brand's name is a reference to the John Carpenter film They Live.[3]
The brand has collaborated with Keith Hufnagel's HUF and Levi Strauss,[4] as well as with artists Cope2 and Keith Haring,[3] singer Debbie Harry,[5][6] and zine Pavement Licker.[7]
The brand has diminished in popularity following the mid-2010s, but is still active, with the FW18 collection release attempting to reestablish the brand.[8] On April 21, 2016, Mike Ternosky—Obey's head designer—received the 2016 Spirit of Design Award, an annual fashion design accolade given by Thomas Jefferson University.[9] From May 16 to October 27, 2024, the brand was displayed at the Fabbrica del Vapore in Milan, at an exhibition dedicated to Fairey, titled "Obey: The Art of Shepard Fairey".[10] In spring and summer 2022, the respective collection depicted fiestas.[11] In early 2023, furniture company Helinox collaborated with Obey, creating six pieces of portable furniture.[12]
References
[edit]- ↑ "The art of Shepherd Fairey". RhodesContemporaryArt.com. Rhodes Contemporary Art. Retrieved 27 December 2025.
- 1 2 3 Kobi Annobil, Shepard Fairey, 'Format Magazine', January 21, 2008Archived 2022-01-18 at the Wayback Machine
- 1 2 "OBEY Clothing: History, Brand Logo and More". Highsnobiety. Retrieved 2025-06-21.
- ↑ "Obey x Levi's 2009 Fall/Winter Collection". Hypebeast. 2009-10-20. Retrieved 2025-06-21.
- ↑ Hallett, Stephanie (2017-08-10). "A new clothing collection from Obey and punk icon Debbie Harry is here". HelloGiggles. Retrieved 2025-06-21.
- ↑ Asch, Andrew (2017-08-11). "Debbie Harry X Obey Comes to Melrose". www.apparelnews.net. Retrieved 2025-06-21.
- ↑ "INTERVIEW: OBEY X Pavement Licker: Call and Response". 'cene Magazine. 2025-06-20. Retrieved 2025-06-21.
- ↑ "BOTW | Is 2018 the Year OBEY Makes Its Comeback?". Highsnobiety. 2018-09-13. Retrieved 2025-06-21.
- ↑ Lockwood, Lisa (2016-04-06). "Obey Clothing's Mike Ternosky to Be Honored by Philadelphia University". WWD. Retrieved 2025-06-21.
- ↑ "The Trends: How Shepard Fairey–Obey's art will be on show in Milan". the-spin-off.com. Retrieved 2025-06-21.
- ↑ "OBEY's New Image Campaign for SS22 Focuses on Fiestas". Hypebeast. 2022-03-09. Retrieved 2025-06-21.
- ↑ "Helinox Taps OBEY for Limited-Edition Portable Furniture". Hypebeast. 2023-02-28. Retrieved 2025-06-21.