Obey (clothing brand)
 | |
Company 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. It is an extension of his "Andre the Giant Has a Posse" street art campaign
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.
- ^ a b c Kobi Annobil, Shepard Fairey, 'Format Magazine', January 21, 2008Archived 2022-01-18 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ a b "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.