Why Birkenstock has refused to collaborate with Supreme

When slowly but surely there is barely a brand out there that Supreme hasn’t collaborated with, and few that would not want to, an interesting turn of events transpired last week when a brand that you would perhaps think more than most would jump at a chance to have some of Supreme’s street creditability rub off on it,  the sandal creating institution of Birkenstock flatly refused to work with the uber-hyped New York brand. Birkenstock that have actually been around since 1774, yes almost 250 years, and since its beginnings been all about function, though having brief moments of fashion's spotlight shone upon them with collaborations with the likes of Rick Owen, Opening Ceremony, and Concepts, felt it had no need to do a collaboration with a brand like Supreme, putting it rather bluntly with:

“There’s no benefit for us except prostitution because this is just prostitution.”

Stated Birkenstock CEO Oliver Reichert. 

A rather refreshing statement from a brand with a quite dry image, that it won't just jump on a trend to have a brief moment of fashion hype, a brand with such a long history and clearly defined market has no need for it really, and it is an attitude that could bare replicating in a time where collaborations are reaching such a height of trendiness that it sometimes leads to creations that see no benefit to either party, and even to the detriment of the brands involved. With fashions current mode of heavy cross-pollination between street, luxury, and functionality, we must respect the integrity of Birkenstocks decision, and that at the very least, like any trend, a second thought as to its relevance is only a good thing. Though we would, of course, have been very curious of see the results of a Birkenstock x Supreme sandal, it looks like we'll have to wait quite some time for that to happen.