What is Supreme?
Supreme is a clothing brand.
At the core of this phenomenon are the clothes. The brand mixes a blend of styles to form its own unique "sauce". Most street wear brand's offerings are rather limited. The core of a capsule would be a t-shirt, a cap and a hoodie. Clothing items such as outerwear, jackets, accessories, and basics bridges the gap between street wear brand and a traditional clothing label. At the core of the brand is the skateboard ethos that translates well when it comes to Supreme's clothing but this quirk can be disconcerting when it comes to other aspects of the brand.
If you take a look at the Supreme Preview for Fall/Winter 2017, you'll get a better idea of the type of clothing Supreme offers. Everything from winter parkas to hoodies to skateboard hardware, all with the distinctive Supreme branding. The clothing and accessories with the traditional red and white Box Logo go for a higher rate in resale markets.
I cannot offer the same type of perspective on Supreme clothing as someone who has been following the brand for a few seasons. The only "benchmark" for athletic, street wear that I have would be Roots Canada. In some ways, the two clothing brands offer similar lifestyle products that have a unique culture and appeal. I have two hoodies and one 6-panel cap from Roots Canada that are favorite pieces in my limited closet. One hoodie has aged beautifully with holes, tatters and worn seams. When I first received the hoodie, I was impressed with the weight, the detailing and the construction. Even though it was made in China, the quality control at Roots Canada must be impeccable. Large raised felt lettering, Beaver logo embroidered patches, branded hardware for the hoodie drawstring--which also had Beavers screened on them. The cap is also just as worn, faded, and broken in. Perfect.
Earlier in the season before I became interested in Supreme, I was in the market for new hoodies for the coming winter months. I looked at the Roots Canada website and a few things caught my eye but I wasn't quite sold. I had an impression that what I was after was something similar in nature. I put off my purchases and began to look around for other cool, interesting, exclusive, well-made items. I have always been into exclusive materials. Roots Canada only has a few shops in the United States. I acquired my pieces from a store in Vancouver, so it in a way, it was a souvenir of the trip, much like a Hard Rock Cafe t-shirt back in day. One had to visit the destination to acquire the merchandise. That's what gave it it's panache and allure.
The most coveted item that Supreme produces is their seasonal Box Logo Hoodie. The modest hoodie has come a long way from its origins as the Baja Jacket or as it was known in certain cannabis cultures, the "drug rug". Originally imported by California surfers, the Baja Jacket has deep connections to the same surf culture that gave birth to skateboarding and snowboarding, so the Hoodie fits perfectly within Supreme's clothing culture. The Hoodie features a distinctive embroidered Supreme Box Logo. It comes in a variety of colorways--some of which are unique to that season. Some of the recent colorways will probably never be reused. The colorways and Box Logo color choices of FW17 were rather off-putting to some of Supreme's longtime collectors. The colors were odd pairings and divisive within the community, which was a notable phenomenon this season.
Second most desired item is the Box Logo Tee. A T-shirt at Supreme ranges from $34-$44 plus a flat $10 shipping charge. This shirt resells with markups of 500% and more depending on the design of the Box Logo. Every season Supreme offers an extensive variety of graphic tees of their own design as well as artist collaborations. One of the most popular releases of late was the Supreme x Louis Vitton collaboration. Quite a significant feat for a brand that was not widely known at the time.
The Box Logo Hoodie and Tee are the most desired items by collectors and resellers but Supreme offers other options as well. Supreme will release a seasonal preview and Lookbook a few weeks before the first drop of the season. This gives people an idea of what's coming down the pipe and a sense of the vibe of the collection. The collections are seasonal, so lighter wear is featured for Spring/Summer and jackets for the Fall/Winter. Jacket collaborations with notable brands such as The North Face and Stone Island are offered in limited runs and sell out in seconds.
Demand revolves around the "hype" surrounding particular pieces from the collection. The perceived value of changes on a whim. Supreme produced a yellow camo Box Logo Tee to celebrate the opening of their new Brooklyn store. Originally, it was to be made available in-store only but due to the incredible demand for the item, the queue was broken up by the police. Supreme quietly added the item unannounced to their webstore, instead. The yellow camo pattern fever broke out amongst the collectors and unreleased pieces like the Half-Zip Pullover and the Headband that featured the same yellow camo were THE items to have.
It's fickle market that's highly dependent on the culture of the consumer, which is an interesting change of the fashion hierarchy where advertisers and crony editors used to make decisions for the public. In today's market, commercial fashion seems very willing to "try anything" for crossover appeal. It doesn't work because the efforts are usually formulated from algorithms and analytics. Those efforts lack authenticity and "realness". A glossy print ad cannot compete with the power of human connection and community.
Next, let's talk people.
--DRUMS
Editor of @burneddolls
