Since NYFW is not over yet, I will be comprehensively reviewing this year’s show in my next article. For now, Supreme’s new season will have to do. Even if you do not know what exactly Supreme is, you probably have seen it somewhere, in the form of a sticker, clothes, various accessories, or even skateboards. Between Valentine’s Day, Ash Wednesday, and Chinese New Year, this week gave most people a reason to celebrate. On Thursday, Feb. 15, Supreme’s first drop of the season was another cause for celebration. On this day, the drop was only in-store, so no one was able to scoop up items online. Starting next week, the web store will open for business. As always, it will not be easy to buy, so be prepared.
A little history on Supreme: first established in 1994 by James Jebbias, Supreme began as an underground skate shop where people came to hang out, and buy cool clothes and accessories with the Supreme logo on it (which itself was copied from Barbra Kruger’s infamous anti-capitalist lines with the font Futura Heavy Oblique; one of her most famous quotes is “I shop, therefore I am,” a riff on the Latin phrase uttered by Descartes, great French philosopher, “Cogito ergo sum,” which translates to “I think, therefore I am”). James Jebbias still keeps a low profile, and very rarely gives interviews. He was very much involved in the skating scene while opening Union NYC and Stüssy before transitioning to managing Supreme. Supreme has 11 outposts all over the world, 6 of which are located in Japan.
If Supreme enthusiast was an Olympic category, Japan would undoubtedly place first. Supreme is more than a brand – it’s like a religion. The other stores are in Brooklyn, Los Angeles, London, and Paris. Its first store, located just across the Hudson River in Soho, Manhattan, NYC, proudly remains the flagship. Jebbias designed the store the way it is, with no tables or shelves, so that skaters could come right in and have a safe place to exchange tips, and promote skating culture in general. The store itself looks and feels like more of an art gallery and storage facility with its white walls and minimalist aesthetic. Supreme never aimed to lure rabid consumers; it was always supposed to be a place where people could come together and exchange ideas about skating culture. Even if you go to any of their stores, the employees will be aloof and comparatively rude. That’s because the Supreme mindset is you buy something if you like it, not because the service of the store clerks pleases you. Obviously, Supreme has expanded beyond skating culture, but a lot of people would argue that this comes at the detriment of society with the rise of “hypebeasts,” who do not care about skating and are attracted to Supreme solely through fashion and reselling. But at Supreme, it is all about authenticity, which I totally respect. The average customer is not expected to understand the sometimes obscure pop culture references made through its clothing or the store itself. This cult-like atmosphere could only be cultivated through years of work and respect, which is considerable in this age of open media and a desire to broadcast everything to the public.
If you don’t understand why people would pay $160 for a Supreme branded hoodie and pay $100 to $300 on top of that to purchase an online bot that guarantees you an item before it sells out, maybe it is meant to be. Prices are hardly astronomical, but once Supreme items hit the secondary market, the prices are set pretty high. As this article goes to print, the average resell value of a Supreme hoodie reached upwards of $900 (on platforms ranging from eBay, StockX, Depop, Bump, Stadium Goods, and Grailed to social media sites like Facebook and Instagram). The price alone makes one wonder the value our society puts on branding and logos. But I digress. All of Supreme’s products are produced either in the US or Canada, and the clothing is surprisingly high quality. Even this season, Supreme keeps up the exciting and unpredictable nature of their products. There will be flannel shirts honoring Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr, tennis balls co-branded with Wilson, and even business suits produced in-house for the first time in Supreme history.
Supreme has always done a lot of collaborations with brands such as Vans, Nike, and The North Face, as well as designers, photographers, musicians, artists. Many world-renowned artists such as Damien Hirst, Jeff Koons, Nate Lowman, and Takashi Murakami have all released skateboard decks with Supreme, which may have retailed for less than $100 but are now treated like art and hanging on walls with price tags of thousands of dollars. Undoubtedly, their most high-profile collaboration to date was with Louis Vuitton, which took the world by storm last year in 2017. They released wallets, keychains, hoodies, sweatpants, denim jackets, backpacks, trunks with co-branded skateboards. However, the price range for most, if not all of the products were not for the common man. If you had $2000 laying around, you could buy a hoodie. If you had $50,000, you could buy a trunk. Today, all of these items have resell values that are easily double their retail prices. Supreme’s irreverent nature has also led to numerous cease & desist orders against Supreme by the NCAA, NHL, and Louis Vuitton. What a turnaround for Supreme to partner with arguably the best known luxury brand for a collaboration that will go down in history.
Supreme’s original store on Lafayette Street and newest store in Brooklyn both hosted a mob of fans eagerly anticipating the new collection. As far as the new drop, items dropping included faux fur repeater bomber, infantry jacket, taped seam jacket, hooded pullover, half zip pullover, cord collegiate logo hooded sweatshirt, side arc crewneck, oxford shirt, baseball jersey, Skull Pile-printed gear, various graphic (some NSFW) T-shirts, beanies, hats, duffle bags, and of course, skateboard decks. It is custom for fans to wear their new purchases out of the store, some of whom chose to don the faux fur repeater bomber and corduroy stadium jacket, both ideal for the warming winter temperatures.
The most interesting thing is that the drop list for Supreme is never officially revealed every week. Insiders obtain the drop list and post it on social media with estimated retail prices. Although I am not a diehard Supreme fanatic, I would definitely say that I have a more than casual interest in Supreme, especially because of their pivotal role in influencing streetwear, skating, and culture. Somehow, I have managed to purchase Supreme online 3 times manually, which means I did not use a bot. I would definitely say your best bet of buying from Supreme is lining up, especially since Supreme implemented a system where you sign up and receive a number indicating your place in line. I like the new system more because it avoids the chaos that past Supreme lines have caused and actually got shut down by the NYPD. I have heard ignorant tourists pass by and remark that it was like the line for the new iPhone at the Apple Store. Order has been restored but there is still the thumping rap music, the sound of skateboard wheels grinding against the curb, the shouts of security guards keeping people in line. Some things will never change.
Some of the products that have released over the years are so outlandish that one could instantly identify them as the brainchild of Supreme, besides the branding. I’m talking about a crowbar, fire extinguisher, MetroCard, Mophie battery back, guitar, ramen noodle bowl, boxing gloves chopsticks, sand timer, air horn, and even a brick. You name it, Supreme has probably made something like it. This season, Supreme is releasing a hatchet and a pinball machine with Stern that is rumored to be retailing for at least $10,000. Shipping for both items will be tricky but for the latter, it is likely to be packaged in parts so that the user assembles it at home.
Supreme recently surpassed Abercrombie & Fitch, the teen retailer with around 900 stores around the globe, in market capitalization. Sales of Abercrombie have been on the decline for 4 years in a row and its rivals, Aeropostale and American Apparel, have already filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The $500 million minority stake investment from Carlyle Group must not have hurt, giving Supreme an overal $1.1 billion market capitalization compared to Abercrombie’s $886 million. Supreme’s true profitability is unknown, but industry experts estimate earnings of $100 million. The current revenue Supreme generates is dependent on its business model of scarcity and word of mouth referrals, something it may have to forgo when looking at other markets to expand, especially in Asia, where demand for Supreme is very high in China and Korea. Unlike traditional retailers which aim to sell as much stock as possible, Supreme will have to deal with the challenge of creating adequate growth while maintaining its limited distribution and appeal. It will be interesting what direction Supreme takes in the coming years and decides whether to expand to other locations. Certainly, there will be no lack of demand whatever they choose to do.
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