by Synonymous with skating, hypebeasts and queuing for four days before a drop, Supreme is a brand we all know about. But what else do you know about the company behind the box logo? We answer all your questions as we tell you more about Supreme and its story.
Started in 1994 by James Jebbia, Supreme’s iconic box logo is one of the most recognised designs in streetwear today. Although it started out with its roots in skatewear, the brand has diversified since their inception in the 90s. Working with brands like Vans, Commes des Garçon and, more recently and famously, Louis Vuitton. Supreme is a brand that now resonates around the world with both street and high-end fashion. But what else should you know about them? There’s a lot of unanswered questions that people simply don’t know the answers to.
Where Can You Buy Supreme?
Supreme sell T-Shirts, hoodies, skate decks and pretty much anything else you think they can put a box logo on. Getting something from Supreme is pretty difficult. They don’t sell through any other retailers apart from very select stores like Dover Street Market and only use their 10 stores and online store for sales. You can read our piece on how to buy Supreme and that should give you a better understanding.
Why Are People so Obsessed with Supreme?
Well, like anything that’s popular in culture, Supreme has cemented themselves as an “in” brand to own. The hype around them is usually driven by celebrities like Kanye West, A$AP Rocky and Kim Kardashian who have all been pictured wearing the iconic box logo. The affinity with the brand resonates with both celebrity and non-celebrity alike, hence the popularity amongst street culture. As well as this, it’s simply a f***ing cool brand to be seen in.
Having been around since 1994, Supreme doesn’t show any signs of going away in street style culture. The stylishness of the skate brand is only echoed by the fact that it has continued to grow year on year, boasting 10 stores worldwide. It’s also a label that is insanely hot amongst both the Eastern and Western hemispheres of the globe, putting it in a bracket that very few other brands have achieved. Supreme is cool because they work on the premise that they don’t give a shit, as per the T-Shirt below.
It’s a company that is founded on the principles of skating and that’s why they’ve succeeded. In a market where brands try to look cool and act like they don’t really care, Supreme are the only ones who have lasted for this long using this style of selling. It might look like they’re being rude and that’s, well, because they are. They don’t care if you don’t like them and it’s simply great.
Why is Supreme so Popular in Asia?
For some unknown reason, Asia really bought into the premise of Supreme and everything they stand for. Supreme has six stores in Japan alone, more than America and Europe combined, a crazy stat for a country that’s smaller than California. Jebbia himself has spoken about how the belief of the brand is that it has to be catered for both the East and West. “Even though we’re from New York, what we do is a mindset; it’s got to work in Japan.” As the growth of the brand has continued, more and more stores started opening across Asia.
The ever growing popularity of Supreme as a subculture in the late 90s meant that the brand started to engage with customers more, just outside of blogs. Tokyo was already saturated with underground resellers, so Jebbia simply cut out the middleman and gave Japanese enthusiasts a chance to buy products at retail. “The plan was never to open six stores in New York” and the idea of moving the location of Supreme stores was working in Japan’s favour it would seem.
Why Does Supreme Cost so Much to Buy?
The brand itself is actually very affordable, designed for skaters and priced for the people who have a genuine love for the logo. However, since it’s inception, Supreme has attracted a cult-like status amongst the streetwear fashion. Release days are manic, with people queuing up four days before a drop. The hype around the brand can be based on this simple equation:
Notoriety x (Mystery + Exclusivity) = Hype
The notoriety of Supreme is built upon their popularity in the skate scene and among the celebs that wear their brand. In addition to this, not many people know about the quantities of products that are released through Supreme. In fact, James Jebbia said in a feature with Interview magazine that “if we can sell 600, then we’ll make 400. That’s just the way we’ve been” adding to the exclusivity of picking something up on release day.
An example of this comes from the box logo T-Shirt. The box logo is only released once a year and sells out online instantly, with one Reddit user reporting that it sold out in 19 seconds in 2016. However, the supreme resale value (see what we did there) of such a sought after item means that it goes from £40 to £400 almost immediately. So, either you have all the gods on your side online when they release new product, you queue for three days before to get a chance, or you buy through a reseller.
- Where – online, instore or through a reseller. Other than that you can head to DSM.
- Why – because they’re a cool brand, they make good pieces and they’re popular
- Who – celebrities, skaters, hypebeats and everyone in between
- What – skate decks, hoodies, t-shirts and anything else you can think of
- When – drops are every Thursday and they close for a few weeks once SS and AW finish
On That Note
We’ve answered all of the questions that you’ll probably ever have about Supreme. You now know where to buy it, how to wear it, where to go to get it, why you should buy it and when it comes out. You are now fully stocked with everything you’ll need to know about Supreme.
Feature image from Pinterest
