When Supreme first opened up shop in New York City (1994), its shopkeepers guarded the merchandise very closely. Customers were told they could "look but not touch" what was on display in the store. The brand was not afraid to openly express their motto: Don't fuck with us. Not everyone was welcome to shop there. Supreme quickly gained attention, legitimacy, and authority.
Supreme relies on guerilla marketing tactics to get the word out about its brand. People have generally been exposed to Supreme through unconventional ways. Wherever there are customers, there are advertisements. Fans of Supreme do their part by putting up posters and pasting stickers wherever they can. People who wear Supreme become walking billboards for the brand.
Supreme intentionally caters to an underground audience, those who prefer to shop at high-end boutiques over department stores. Every Thursday, Supreme releases a limited batch of new merchandise. These items sell out online in milliseconds. They then appear on the resell market for three or four times the original price. Offering a limited supply helps increase demand. These items become seen as rare collectibles.
Often times, Supreme collectors will track down and purchase sold out items on the resell market for hundreds or thousands of dollars more than the original retail price just to be able to have the items in their possession. To them, it's about gaining social capital over others. They have a desire to dress themselves apart from others. It's about creating and maintaining a unique identity.
Supreme is praised for being an authentic brand and yet so much of its fame stems from appropriation. The logo itself is unoriginal, taken from the work of Barbara Kruger, a famous American graphic designer. She addresses issues concerning religion, politics, race, and more in her propaganda art. It's ironic that Supreme imitates her work given that she opposes corporate greed and consumerism.
When Supreme releases new items, customers usually rush to the website to shop at the same time. The heavy traffic crashes the site, leaving many customers empty-handed. People now choose to purchase bots ($50+) to do their shopping for them. Customers provide personal and banking information ahead of time. These bots enable customers to get the items they want despite any traffic.
Supreme intentionally makes their website pretty difficult to navigate and use. Customers have to actually put in effort to find the items they're looking for. This interface puts both newcomers and loyal visitors at a disadvantage in their ability to browse and shop for items quickly and efficiently.
Celebrities, like Kanye West, A$AP Rocky and Tyler the Creator, help expose their fans to the brand every time they are seen out in public wearing Supreme clothing. Their fans are quick to approve of what they're wearing and jump on the trend themselves as they attempt to mirror a similar aesthetic and lifestyle. Friends of fans will start to do the same as a result of social proof.
Studies have shown that colors have an effect on the way people think about the "personality" of brands. Colors are also known to influence the way people think about a person's persuasiveness. People are more likely to believe in the arguments made by someone dressed in red. Supreme, with their iconic logo, makes use of the color red to send an indirect message about power, dominance and authority.
Every Thursday at 11 a.m., Supreme puts out new items for its fans worldwide in store and online. This weekly occurrence is called "The Drop". Hundreds of fans will start to line outside of the stores early in the morning. These lines can wrap around a couple of blocks. Some fans will even camp out days in advance in anticipation for the new releases. There are times when security has to be called in to man the situation.
During its 23 years of existence, Supreme has avoided going commercial despite its popularity worldwide as a leading streetwear brand. Its clothing has never been sold in department stores. Fans would see that as an act of selling out. Supreme has also remained true to its fans by choosing not to restock its inventory once an item is sold out. The brand continues to honor the expectations of devoted fans as an act of reciprocity.
The hype around Supreme has mostly been generated by fans and celebrities who actively expose others to the brand. Popular fashion blogs that write about current trends, like Complex and Hypebeast, consistently rank Supreme as the #1 streetwear brand worldwide. The amount of dedication and praise shown to Supreme by its fans has worked to actively persuade others into liking the brand, creating a domino effect.
The brand wants to take on the mission of becoming the "Supreme Ruler of Culture". Some people believe that Supreme is a religion, with its own doctrine, leaders, and followers. Those who shop at Supreme aim to project a shared attitude that is distinct, bold and rebellious. The brand now reaches a more diverse audience of youngsters and streetwear enthusiasts. It was originally founded by the skate community.
Customers remain loyal to Supreme because the brand has proven itself to stay true to itself in its core values, identity and aesthetic over the years. People attribute Supreme as being authentic because it first started out in New York City, directly embracing skate culture. The first people who shopped at Supreme did not wear its clothing because it was seen as trendy. The brand truly emulated a legitimate lifestyle.
When one individual comes in contact with another individual who is also wearing Supreme clothing, they automatically gain a sense of trust and mutual understanding. They accept the other person just by the clothes on their back because they assume that the other person also shares their same mindset, values and belief. They are quick to welcome because they mutually help to support the same brand.
Studies have shown that people are quick to pass positive judgements on those who are considered to be conventionally good-looking. They associate these individuals with favorable traits and desire to be more like them. People who don't yet wear Supreme but give praise to those who do help drive sales within the community. People feel more motivated to buy and wear Supreme for the compliments.
Aside from being notoriously exclusive, the community built around Supreme is known for being very tight-knit. People who wear Supreme enjoy keeping each other updated about new releases and recent purchases. They compliment each other on their outfits and build a relationship around their mutual love for the brand. It's generally common to see Supreme fans wearing similar outfits and pieces of clothing.
Every week, fans wait to try their hand at getting a new piece from the Drop that takes place at 11 a.m. on Thursday mornings. The anticipation builds up as Thursday approaches. Once items are released, the fans enter into a frenzy, trying to snatch up what they can get. Once everything sells out, the fans return to their down beat rhythm and wait for the cycle of anticipation to start again.
Supreme has established itself in such a way that allows it to get away with selling almost any kind of item with its logo on it for an extremely high price. Fans are willing to pay almost a hundred dollars for a brick with the logo of Supreme engraved onto it. People jump at the chance to buy Supreme branded Fire Extinguishers and even Supreme airhorns. People don't question the items. They buy it just to have it.
Many people in the community claim that Supreme is all inclusive because it reaches a wide audience that's both old and young in age. The brand exists to sell a lifestyle and an image, not clothing itself. It doesn't try to target any group specifically. Others in the streetwear industry feel like Supreme has done some things in the past that has perpetuated the idea that women need not be included in the community.
The twenty terms shown and defined above are from the Persuasion course curriculum. This class is newly offered and taught by professors under the Carnegie Mellon School of Design. This website is my final project for the course. **DISCLAIMER** None of these images are original. I do not own these images! They are all taken from the internet from various online blogs and web galleries. To be clear, the intended use of these images is for educational purposes. The sources for images will soon be provided in a separate page. Coming very, very soon!