For a brand that began life as a small skate shop in New York in the ‘90s, Supreme has built a huge name for itself over the last 20 years. It has an obsessive cult following around the globe with people spending hundreds and even thousands of pounds on its pieces. People are even willing to pay large amounts flying to their nearest stores, or splashing out on second-hand items. What gives this brand such a competitive edge that makes people camp overnight for its next big release?
For starters, Supreme has had a ton of different collaborations, not just with other brands but also with high-profile artists. From Nike, The North Face, Stone Island and Comme Des Garcons to Damien Hirst and Dondi White, there has always been a desirable new product. Supreme’s street cred keeps rising, and with each new collaboration it continues to build a mass following from skaters to celebs and wannabes. You can see Drake, Tyler the Creator and Kanye West, to name a few, sporting Supreme tees and huge numbers of buyers want to follow their lead.
The brand’s few stores drop new products on a Thursday at the start of each collection. I remember having lunch across the road from the Supreme shop in Soho and every time I took a mouthful a new group of people (mainly teenagers and young men) would join the back of the queue.
It was a spectacle that I can only compare to the release of a new iPhone. The desirability of the product feeds on the exclusivity that comes from having only a handful of shops and limited stock, with its customers knowing what they want to buy before it’s even released. New stock online sells out within seconds, so camping and queuing up doesn’t sound like such a bad option for the committed fan.
As well as its own online store, Supreme has thousands of sellers and buyers of its second-hand merchandise, with its biggest European trading activity on SupTalk. With such a large second-hand trading community, how do you spot a fake online? It’s more difficult to identify a Supreme fake than some other brands but if you are part of its cult following you’ll know the tell-tale signs online.
The first thing to remember is that most pieces and collaborations are limited so stock is sold out in seconds and sellers will resell these items at a huge mark-up. That means that if you see a popular Supreme item online and it is selling for a fraction of a normal price (anything less than £15) it is most likely a fake. Supreme is never cheap whether it’s new or second hand so don’t go searching for a bargain if you want it to be legit.
Customers are also limited in what they are allowed to buy at any one time, so if an online company is selling bulk quantities of one style then you know it is a copy. As much as we would like to believe that we can find reasonably priced Supreme items, don’t get your hopes up. If everyone could have it, the fans wouldn’t be quite so desperate to get their hands on it.
Supreme is a culture – it isn’t H&M. by Aly Blanchette
The post Fashion: Buying Supreme – Avoiding Fakes appeared first on Felix Magazine.
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