You read that right.

On Dec. 10 (Monday) Samsung China held a media launch conference for the Samsung Galaxy A8s.

One major announcement that caught people's attention was that Samsung would be collaborating with Supreme, a street wear brand with a big cult-following.

The "CEO"

Calling Samsung a "leading technology brand that is continually exploring the perfect marriage between fashion and technology", the presenter of the conference announced that "cutting edge fashion brand Supreme" would be collaborating with Samsung.

The presenter then invited his "friend" and "CEO" of "Supreme" on stage to share his thoughts.

While most people would be expecting this guy up on stage:

They got these two guys instead:

The presenter said Samsung would be working with "Supreme" to create lifestyle and technology products. He then handed the microphone over to the "CEO" of "Supreme".

Introduced as "同董" (CEO Tong) of "Supreme 国际品牌有限公司" (Supreme International Brand Private Limited), the bespectacled man explained why "Supreme" was collaborating with Samsung.

He said that "Samsung is an innovative multinational company that chased technological and product design perfection and this was in line with our (Supreme) attitude towards popular culture".

He added that both Samsung and "Supreme" place a lot of importance to catering for the youth market in China which emphasises individualism and fashion.

It was also shared at the conference that this is the first time "Supreme" is entering the Chinese market, and that this media conference was the first "official" appearance of "Supreme" in Chinese media.

"CEO" Tong also shared that "Supreme" will be expanding aggressively in China in 2019, including opening a 7-storey flagship store in Sanlitun, Beijing. It will also be producing more street wear that combine Chinese cultural elements.

Not Supreme

In an official statement to Street Fashion website Hypebeast, the real Supreme said:

"Supreme is not working with Samsung, opening a flagship location in Beijing or participating in a Mercedes-Benz runway show. These claims are blatantly false and propagated by a counterfeit organization."

Legal Fake Supreme Italia

Following multiple media outlets calling out Samsung for collaborating with a rip-off Supreme, Samsung China’s digital marketing manager, Leo Lau wrote, in a now-taken down Weibo post, that Samsung China was collaborating with "Supreme Italia, not Supreme US". He added that Supreme U.S. was not authorized to sell and market its products in China.

It was reported that Supreme U.S. failed to properly protect its intellectual property rights and had recently lost a lawsuit to "legal fake" Supreme Italia in Italy.

According to Wikipedia, legal fakes occur when "a third company precedes the original brand company in the registration of the trademark, running its own business, from production to sales, in another country. By exploiting the products, creativity, marketing and advertising strategies of the original brand, the company misleads consumers, who are not aware of the fake goods."

Supreme U.S. had sued the company International Brand Firm which had reproduced and sold merchandise bearing the Supreme logo under the brand "Supreme Italia".

The Italian courts had ruled in favour of Supreme Italia and Supreme U.S. lost its right to trademark its brand in the European Union.

This may explain why "Supreme" is collaborating with Samsung China.

You can watch the full media launch conference here.

This is not the first time Chinese companies have been accused of copying successful brands and products.

Top image screenshot from Weibo