What brand owns Anti Social Social Club?

Once upon a time, Anti Social Social Club was the world's hottest streetwear outfit. Now, it's owned by the company that operates Martha Stewart and Emeril Lagasse's namesake brands. Funny how these things happen.

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How did Anti Social Social Club get so popular?
Do Anti Social Social Club shirts run big?
How big is the Anti Social Social Club logo?

According to a report by The Business of Fashion, Anti Social Social Club (ASSC) has been snapped up for an undisclosed sum by license-hungry Marquee Brands, the overseer of the aforementioned celebrity properties, Ben Sherman, and BCBG Max Azria.

The ASSC purchase follows a recent string of high-profile, streetwear-leaning acquisitions made by other management firms like Authentic Brand Group (Reebok) and VF Corp (Supreme).

“Our plan is to let ASSC be ASSC – with no intent to change the brand DNA, values, or culture,” Marquee Brands chief executive Neil Fiske said in a statement, a strikingly similar sentiment to what VF Corp CEO Steve Rendle said when his company scooped up Supreme.

It's a strategy that clearly ain't broken, so why fix? This kinda stuff tends to sell itself, as Rendle explained.

Highsnobiety has also reached out to an ASSC representative for comment on the acquisition.

Founded in 2015 by NikeTalk forum member Neek Lurk (real name Andrew Buenaflor), ASSC was quickly co-signed by tastemakers like Kanye West, Kim Kardashian, and RSVP Gallery, the boutique opened by Don C and Virgil Abloh. In seducing these cultural titans, ASSC swiftly became the de facto streetwear brand of the post-Tumblr Instagram era.

Drops of printed hoodies and tchotchkes sold-out in seconds to an eager fanbase, who then quickly turned rabid after shipments became sluggish and Lurk started posting Instagram photos with some pricey new cars (new management eventually took over; Lurk's current role with ASSC, if any, is unknown).

Collections kept selling out, though, amped up by countless collaborations and a newfound streak of self-awareness, teasing frustrated fans thinking of jumping off the bandwagon — ASSC even issued collaborations with USPS and DHL, pointedly reminding longtime fans of shipping woes.

Despite fading relevance among the larger streetwear set, ASSC has a stranglehold on a small, but dedicated, following and has no issue keeping product moving. Especially in China, where a fresh following of young fans keep sales brisk, ASSC is perfectly comfortable with the current size of its flock.

With that in mind, ASSC makes more sense on the Marquee Brands roster; it specializes in brands that do reliably brisk business, with or without a cache of clout.

Anti Social Social Club (ASSC) has been acquired by Marquee Brands, the parent company of Ben Sherman, Martha Stewart’s namesake brand, and various other lifestyle labels.

As reported by The Business of Fashion, the acquisition was confirmed earlier this morning for an undisclosed sum. Speaking to BOF, Marquee Brands Chief Executive Neil Fiske said, “Our plan is to let ASSC be ASSC – with no intent to change the brand DNA, values, or culture.”

ASSC, which was founded in 2015 by Neek Lurk, found fame among the streetwear community at a time when Supreme was in its element, sitting alongside the UltraBOOST hype, a love for anything Kanye West touched, and Drake’s “Hotline Bling” acting as the anthem of the year.

Despite its appeal — bolstered by logo-adorned T-shirts and frequent collaborations with streetwear icons such as BAPE, Richardson, Cactus Plant Flea Market and RSVP Gallery — ASSC fell short when it came to delivering on its collections, literally. Unheard-of delivery tactics — or a lack thereof — meant that those who bought ASSC had to wait months to get their order, at a time owing over 1,000 people their merchandise.

Today, despite the turbulence, ASSC maintains a level of prominence in the streetwear scene with its new “SICK & TIRED” collection and continuation of relevant collaborations.

Now, under Marquee Brands, we could see a triumphant return for ASSC, or perhaps its demise depending on the route the acquires take. For example, VF Corp has shown growth in Supreme with revenue figures continuing to grow year on year.

Stay tuned to HYPEBEAST for more information about the buy-out, and sound off below.

Elsewhere, HYPEBEAST recently dissected the convoluted world of sportswear x luxury collaborations.

Anti Social Social Club, the Los Angeles-based streetwear label founded by Neek Lurk in 2015, has been sold to licensing and brand management firm Marquee Brands, BoF has learned.

The terms of the deal were not disclosed, although sources said that the transaction was a purchase, not an investment, and that several members of the Anti Social Social Club are now working at the company, which manages labels including BCBG Max Azria, Ben Sherman and Martha Stewart.

”Our plan is to let ASSC be ASSC – with no intent to change the brand DNA, values, or culture,” said Marquee Brands chief executive Neil Fiske in a statement to BoF. “We’re providing capital and operating platforms to help them grow. They’ll remain as entrepreneurial, creative, contrarian and weird as they’ve always been.”

Marquee is one of the major players in a sector of the fashion industry that has benefited in recent years from the strife of legacy brands, which were challenged by changes in consumer behaviour long before the pandemic hit. Authentic Brands Group, which raised $3.5 billion in 2021, has made headlines for its high-profile purchases of everything from Barneys New York and Sports Illustrated to Brooks Brothers and Reebok, all household names that have struggled to develop business models that work in the modern era.

While its purchases have not garnered as much press, Marquee has been going head-to-head with ABG on deals via a $462 million fund raised by its backer, investment firm Neuberger Berman, in 2016. Fiske, a former Gap executive, joined the business in September 2020, just as the M&A market was heating up. However, as valuations soared, the company failed to secure any new deals after the acquisition of housewares brand Sur La Table in August 2020.

Now, as the market cools with inflation rising, new opportunities arise. A former social media manager for Stussy, Lurk founded Anti Social Social Club on social media, photoshopping an image of a t-shirt and making them after he received orders from followers. The brand gained further notoriety after it was worn by Kanye West, although its status in the streetwear ecosystem is complex. Deemed deeply uncool by insiders, but once beloved by the masses, the brand has been picked apart on social media. Searching its name on TikTok pulls up video after video asking “What happened to Anti Social Social Club?”

Among the theories: overexposure, an absentee founder and frequent shipping issues, where customers received items months after they had ordered them.

However, Anti Social Social Club still offers Marquee access to the coveted Gen-Z audience — especially in China, where it’s popular. (Annual sales are unknown, but many streetwear labels with the same reach easily generate $25 million a year or more.)

Once prolific online, Lurk — whose given name is Andrew Buenaflor — has retreated from social media in recent years after moving back to Las Vegas, where he lived prior to Los Angeles. His current level of involvement in the business is unknown. Marquee brands did not answer a request for comment regarding Lurk’s role, and he could not be reached for a request for comment.

For those of you who are not familiar, the Anti Social Social Club is a Los Angeles–based streetwear brand that was started in 2015 and has gained popularity over the years thanks to collaborations with Dover Street Market, as well as being seen on celebrities like Ye, BTS, and now … Martha.

Anti Social Social Club is a streetwear brand founded by Neek Lurk in Los Angeles. FIT GUIDE: Fits true to size.

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