Harmony Korine for Supreme

Harmony Korine and cult skate shop Supreme have joined forces in this exclusive premiere for "Needle". Starring professional oddball David Blaine and skate legend Mark Gonzales, the short follows a group of skaters in Cashville. Unscripted and definitely not for the faint of heart, the film series from Harmony and Supreme celebrates the launch of their new collection. We caught up with Harmony to find out more about the collaboration and his tales of The Gonz.

Dazed Digital: How did working with Supreme come about?

Harmony Korine: We all grew up together. We have a shared history and we were all kids together in the beginning. We all had big dreams, we started from the bottom, the whole fuckin' team. 

DD: Were these videos scripted or did you just follow everyone with a camera?

Harmony Korine: No script, just an idea. We wanted to see what would happen if you put a bunch of psychos together in Cashville late at night in the cut. We wanted to make magic.

DD: How did working with David Blaine come about? He seems like an unusual choice for Supreme.

Harmony Korine: He's great. It makes perfect sense actually – he goes hard. He's an original American headcase. Nobody else sticks shish kebab skewers through their biceps as a hobby. No one else gargles lighter fluid instead of mouthwash. No one else can rip off a chickens head and then re-attach it perfectly. No one else sleeps in a heated pizza oven at night. Classic shit.

DD: What was it like to work with the Gonz? Any crazy stories?

Harmony Korine: Gonz is the best, he invented it all. He influenced us all growing up. There will never be another like him. He's the Frank Sinatra of street culture. Once I saw him stay up for two weeks straight with no sleep and survive off nothing but smoking George Burns brand cigars and cuban coffee. I once saw him ollie flip down 10 stairs on a long board while wearing only black nylon formal dress socks and a fencing outfit. We used to live together when we were kids. He once wrote an entire novel on the seat cushions of our sofa, it was called "Adulthood".

DD: How do you think skateboarding is influencing mainstream/fashion media? 

Harmony Korine: Skateboarding was everything to us growing up. It changes the way you see the world, you spend all day looking for ditches. Back then everyone hated you, fighting was an everyday thing, especially growing up in the south. It effects most things, it changes your perception of things. I was free when I was 12 becuase I got my first skateboard. I've been free ever since. 

DD: Why do you think the skateboard culture has become more accepted/popular in mainstream culture in recent years/how has it expanded? 

Harmony Korine: I don't know, the world is just different. I guess the churches and corporations got to the kids, made it acceptible to have it both ways. Fuck them.

DD: Who have been your mentors/influencers for film/video/art

Harmony Korine: Project Pat. 

DD: New fashion-related skateboarding projects tend to come under a lot of scrutiny from the skateboarding community. What are the important things to bear in mind in order to maintain the respect of the skateboard community and be a hit with a wider more mainstream audience?

Harmony Korine: I dont care about that stuff, just be good. Do what you want and it'll all be ok.

Check out the full Supreme collection here