MadeMe Founder and Supreme VP of Design Erin Magee Knows Streetwear

Lessons on Authenticity and Collaboration From Years of Working at the Forefront of Cool

There might be a formula for the It Girl (spotted at this restaurant + selfies in that lighting + one ahead-of-trend top), but the cool girl can’t be copied.

In 2007, Erin Magee launched MadeMe, the New York–based women’s streetwear label, knowing exactly the kind of girl she was dressing: “She’s always highly influenced by the ‘90s and early 2000s,” the designer says. “I think musically—and with fashion and a lot of artistic realms—it comes back to that time period for her.” The MadeMe girl is .

Focusing on storytelling by means of baby tees, shoulder bags, plaid skirts, and animal prints, Magee continues to pay tribute to the generation of ravers and riot grrrls that influenced her when she was a teenager. Her campaigns never fail to put fresh faces on the map, her collaborations range from Nike and Converse to Paul Frank and X-girl, and her perspective sparks industry-wide phenomena. In addition to founding and running MadeMe, she is the VP of design at Supreme, where she’s worked for 18 years.Over a Friday afternoon video call, Magee and I were shocked to learn that we not only share the same hometown, but attended the same high school. Growing up in Burlington, Ontario, my ideas around fashion and culture were…limited, to say the very least. Magee, however, knew what she wanted from a young age, ultimately earning a scholarship in New York. That she quickly became recognized and celebrated in the city—and beyond—for her unmatched take on cool clothing (collaborating with Kim Jones at age 23), and has only grown in acclaim (designing 2019 Women’s World Cup merch) is entirely unsurprising.While balancing two full-time jobs and parenting her two daughters, Magee spoke about what’s in the MadeMe bag, friends she regularly works with (including photographer Moni Haworth and family), and how summertime in New York somehow changes everything.

Let’s talk about the MadeMe girl. Who is she? What makes her so easily identifiable to you?

She’s an easy one to see. She’s the quintessential cool girl. She’s the smartest and bitchiest. Boys want to be her, but they also want to sleep with her. Everyone wants to be her, actually.It evolved from this time period for me in the ‘90s in high school or middle school, being infatuated and idolizing these really cool girls, and what it feels like to be them. It’s always extraordinarily cool, extra, kind of cunty [].

What items do you imagine would always be in her bag?What inspired the latest collection?

I don’t vape, but I think all MadeMe girls vape. Or they smoke. There’s definitely tampons and tons of lip stuff. All the lip things. Keys and IDs cause they’re going out. Not a lot of them carry a wallet. Cards everywhere. There might be a couple gum wrappers, and something that smells good—some type of body spray. Maybe during COVID there’s a taser or a pocket knife []. She might have some crystals because she’s also spiritual at times. And weed.My thing always goes back to the customer: What is that girl into right now?

What’s on the MadeMe playlist?Would you share a bit more about your experience at Supreme over the years?Drops?

Of course Princess Nokia. There’s ESG, Sleater-Kinney, Veruca Salt, Bikini Kill. Then there’s also Lil’ Kim, Hole, Björk, Le Tigre, Bratmobile, Massive Attack, Kelis, Tricky, Shygirl, Lola, Peaches, PJ Harvey.It’s been very cool to be a part of something that’s changed the world, to be honest. Fashion and street culture look completely different now, and a lot of it has to do with what we did. This has been coming up a lot in conversation, and I don’t like to brag, but we were kind of the first people who started collaborating. Now there are collaborations everywhere. A lot of how we retail things and the way we produce clothing is copied by many people, including high-fashion companies.We don’t intentionally do drops—we don’t strategize that as much as people think we do. But yeah, how we sell out of things weekly, that was never a thing in fashion. You’d do a spring season, then fall. That retail cadence was never a thing. And our real connection to young people and youth culture, and how we kind of tell a story through really connecting to real parts of culture—a lot of people do that now. It’s been really cool to watch that happen over 18 years of doing it. It’s been a long but severe trajectory. It’s cool, but it’s hard work.

Since launching MadeMe in 2007, have there been any other shifts in the industry you were surprised to see?What did the early days look like?And now?Do you have any predictions for where streetwear is headed? Or anything you’d like to see more people focusing on?

Sometimes I take two or three years off MadeMe. Like, to have kids. I find when I come back from those hiatuses it’s difficult because things have changed for me, and I try to get my footing again. What’s hot, what’s cool right now, what retailers are cool—let me get back into that because I used to know who all of them were. That’s when I notice the most change. Instagram is such a tool for streetwear, it’s crazy. You can operate a whole business and have a healthy financial sell-through through Instagram. It’s one of the only things you need to do to create awareness. It’s like a résumé, where people can check it and understand who you are. When I started at Supreme, we didn’t even have a website.There were like, five of us. It was so small. We just had the store.We’re reopening in a new location next week. Because I make all the clothes, it’s actually a chiller time for me. Everything has shifted over to retail and the web store, photography and brand things. I get a quick week off. The other 50 weeks of the year? No [].You have to stay true to who you are—those are the brands that exist for a really long time. Being authentic is so important, and having a real story to tell and a real customer to talk to. Supreme is the best at it. It’s so clear when you see something from Supreme. I understand the story and I understand who they’re talking to. If you stick to that, you’ll always make it through because you’re making a real product.

You mentioned Supreme being at the forefront of collaborations. With MadeMe, you’ve done your own with Converse, Paul Frank, Marc Jacobs Heaven, Nike, X-girl—where do those typically begin?If you could think of a dream collaboration, who would it be with?Yes.Between travel, family life, and work, what does your schedule look like?I saw that you once ran a marathon while checking working emails!

They’re usually quite organic. People hit me up. I will only do something if I really like the idea of it, because I don’t have a lot of spare time to be doing something I don’t love to do. The Nike one was so cool, I got to take over the store in New York for a month. And Moni’s photos were huge, floor to ceiling. We’ve done a lot of cool stuff over the years and I’m just happy to keep going.Wouldn’t it be cool to see a Stephen Sprouse x MadeMe collection?[] Or Westwood. Lots of plaid kilts.It’s bonkers. I say bonkers because I have kids—that’s my way of saying it’s fucking nuts. I wake up at 5 AM every single day. I go to my trainer at 6:30 and I try to work from 5 AM to 6 AM to get emails in. That’s the only quiet time I have for the entire day. My kids will get up by the time I get back from the gym, I have to take them to school, I have to come here, then everyone’s talking at Supreme. I have to squeeze in some things, and by the time it’s 6:30 PM, I’m trashed. I’m so spun out. I have to cook dinner for the kids, put them to bed. It’s crazy.[]

Do you have a favorite time of year in New York?What’s the most fun part about dressing your daughters?Are those the designers you’re also most into?

The summer, for sure. It feels lighter. New York is very stressful, you have to be quite psychotic to be really grounded out here. Like downtown New York—you have to be kind of a crazy person, don’t you? When the winter comes I start getting sad. I get to work, it’s kind of gloomy, and by the time I leave it’s pitch black. It’s very heavy, emotionally for me. So when the sun starts coming out, and warm weather starts coming, I get really happy about it. Everyone’s mood in New York changes. Everyone’s like, “Yeah! We alive!”I don’t do the “fashion mom” thing. I’m fine with Target clothing. I mean, we have some pieces. The baby has some Walter Van Beirendonck. They have a lot of Hysteric Glamour, Walter, X-girl. I buy Martine Rose from SSENSE for the girls, her branded tees and the little soccer kits. They have a lot of Chopova Lowena.I’m obsessed with Martine Rose. Hello, who’s not? I love what Chopova Lowena does. I really appreciate it for my girls, and the brand—I appreciate it a lot.

Which designers made you want to get into fashion in the first place?Do you have any advice for emerging designers or brands?

Hysteric and X-girl, from more of a street, cool angle, and less of a classically trained designer. My favorite designer is Jean Paul Gaultier. He is the one who made me want to get into clothing. I didn’t know how to get any of that stuff when I lived in Burlington, but I could get those Japanese street brands. I would wear those, or some other skate street brands, like Freshjive.Always refer back to telling your story. Then it's full-picture, not just about the clothing. It’s about the photography, the message, and who you’re touching through that. Once you have that emotional hook, it’s fun to do, and easy because it makes sense for you. It speaks to people. Through all of that, you have to make good product, too. But that’s the key. It’s hard work to make clothing, it’s financially extremely difficult. It’s about sticking to what you’re trying to say, and that takes guts.

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