What is Supreme?
Supreme is a phenomenon.
Supreme is a clothing label. Supreme is cultural revolution. Supreme is Supreme.
Supreme is actually off of most people's radar. It is a New York-based skateboard shop turned clothing company founded in 1994 by James Jebbia, who was no stranger to the business of streetwear having worked with Sean Stussy. The savvy business man realized there was a need for a skateboard shop with an East Coast flavor. At the time, skateboarding still was shaking off it's surf-based California roots as it took off in popularity. Snowboarding had become more popular as well, which added another sub-culture to the brewing mix of the mid 90's skate culture. Jebbia hired local skaters to staff his store and I think also drew from the 'fuck you' art attitude and talent of local graffiti writers who have their own brand of underground skate culture based in the urban experience of living in New York, hip-hop and cannabis. There are also influences of CBGB's punk rock and Andy Warhol's The Factory. New York City is in Supreme's DNA.
I think the rise and steady maturation of Supreme into an incredible global powerhouse was due in part to the acceptance of skateboarding as an "acceptable" form of physical activity. The sport still retains it's original badboy 'thrasher' attitude but that's only one of many different sub-cultures under the skateboarding umbrella. A positive example being the international and local ambassador outreach programs that bring the sport to under privileged children in developing countries and rural areas. As it spread over the world, Supreme let the culture work it's magic and the brand became an underground secret.
The clandestine skateboard scene was bursting with creative talent in the mid 90's, unknown brands like Alien Workshop appeared with rabid followings. As a side note, the warehouse rave scene was THE scene for underground fashion at the time and to show up to an event with something ultra exclusive, like a vintage Adidas tracksuit or a distinctive graphic t-shirt gave raver personas a certain amount of clout or swag. The early warehouse scene was a way to escape and to become something different by pushing clothing boundaries, like wearing fuzzy pants and oversized Mickey Mouse gloves. The more ironic, the more iconic.
Supreme in it's current incarnation is an international street wear brand, with cultural roots in skateboarding. But it has moved far past it's humble beginnings. The skateboard hard goods shop started to produce stylish distinctive t-shirts and hoodies featuring a red and white logo based on the work of Barbara Kruger. For some reason, the visual appeal of the logo caught on and has become iconic in it's own right. The Box Logo has become the mark of the (hype)beast. This iconic logo featured mashed up with ironic graphics sampling every form of culture, featured on various pieces of clothing, is the graphic ethos of the brand, repurposed high art mixed with a good dose of punk rock 'fuck you'.
From one New York location, the brand expanded selectively to Los Angeles, London, Japan (6 stores!), Paris and most recently a new Brooklyn location featuring a skate bowl. At these locations, during their retail season, one will see lines of people waiting for the latest "drop" of Supreme branded clothing and accessories. Every Thursday at 11 a.m. EST, Supreme New York releases portions of their collections. Supreme does not manufacture goods in large quantities. Nor does the brand remake old successful products. Once it's made available, that's it, you'll never see it again. Which is the case with their highly coveted accessories line, which makes me think of the outrageous exclusive items Neiman-Marcus would release for their Christmas Book catalog.
The small runs and high demand for Supreme has unleashed a fervent resale market. I would speculate that a good portion of the current purchases of Supreme products are bought by resellers to put out on the secondary market with a hefty markup, usually retail plus 100 to 200% and higher depending on the scarcity and the product. Supreme Box Logo Tees and Box Logo Hoodies are in such high demand that resale markups are sometimes as high as 1000%. The recent Box Logo Hoodie that Supreme dropped for Fall/Winter 2017 went for around $1400 on Grailed at the time of release. The price cooled to an even $1000. The Hoodie retails for around $168.
This resale market is it's own sub-culture of the street wear phenomenon. It has it's own look, culture, music and language. Hustlers of all ages have found a new source of economic revenue for a few hours of work. But that type of income takes time and plenty of resources to build, specifically what people call "social capital." Resellers with high social media follower accounts can make quite a bit of money, especially reliable resellers who use their influence to support the culture. Some have increased their reach by featuring unboxing videos, product forecasts, and product review videos on YouTube. Some have even found fame through being "hypebeast" personalities on Instagram and YouTube.
At the most basic level, Supreme makes clothes. From a broader perspective, Supreme is a technological collective experience. There are many nuances in between the layers--many of which I will discuss in this series of articles.
Next, let's talk clothing.
--DRUMS
Editor of @BurnedDolls
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