The Supreme Brand

The line, bustling with eager 20 year olds, spans over 4 blocks long on North Fairfax Ave near Hollywood in Los Angeles. People have been waiting 11, 14, 18 hours for the chance to get their hands on that red box logo. Their extremely limited release and pretty pricey clothing may confuse the outsider as to why someone would literally lose sleep standing on a sidewalk for the smallest chance to get a T-shirt. Let alone that, I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw my 20 year old college student boyfriend get up at 7:30 in the morning to try to get a jacket on the online drop.

But to many people, Supreme is more than a typical T-shirt or sweatshirt.

            Founded in 1994 in New York by James Jebbia, the Supreme brand indulges the skateboarder and punk rock and hip hop cultures. Now, the $4 million company has grown to a whopping 10 stores worldwide: one store in New York, London, Paris, and Los Angeles, and six stores in Japan. On the outside, the company is small and sells basic streetwear items that could be found much cheaper at other stores. Why do people spend entire days for this small clothing line?

            Waiting about halfway through the line with his friends 19 year old Daara Ghorbani from Woodland Hills, CA answers the question: “The clothing is either controversial or it features someone famous. It is always something interesting even if it’s just on a regular shirt.” Famous celebrities from 36 Mafia to Lady Gaga to Rihanna to Kate Moss to even Kermit the Frog have modeled for the brand, reaching out to a wide audience. The last drop also featured the “eternal T-shirt” that featured the influential photograph of Thich Quang Duc, more widely known as the burning monk, along with a crown of thorns in reference to Jesus Christ. But even more widely controversial items have been sold that emphasize cuss words, sexual images, and political mockery. “It’s my first amendment right, freedom of speech,” Daara explains, “But other than that, It’s great quality stuff any way you look at it. Definitely worth the time and money.” On December 8th, 2016, Supreme’s website recorded 1.9 billion requests to servers. This number isn’t proportional to the number of people, but rather the number of times the page was refreshed. But either way, the number of people trying to buy is astronomically larger than the amount of clothes sold.

            The high risk high reward system Supreme has put in place has created almost an addiction for this early 20 year olds everywhere. More and more people are popping up everyday on Youtube making their channel’s focus on “copping” and selling supreme. My boyfriend’s dream, a pink box logo sweatshirt originally sold for $148, has a resale price of almost $2,000. With this kind of money being passed around, it’s obvious why some people attempt to make a career out of it.

            On the other hand, the same system keeps it true to its name. Glenn O’Brien, the style writer, commented to New York Times that Supreme does not follow the typical business plan to get as big as possible. Instead of selling out, the brand collaborates with other big names like Louis Vuitton, Champion, Jordan, Vans, etc. This allows them to get a taste of being big fashion while staying true to their roots, remaining independent and mysterious. Its exclusiveness remains the power for the brand to stay alive while fueling the addiction of hypebeasts everywhere.