Slow to the party, I know. I’ve never been interested in Supreme but recently I’m paying more attention to youth culture, and wanted to understand why certain brands like Supreme are so special.
Here’s a great documentary on the brand and its cult status.
And a writeup by Vice: https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/5gq393/supreme-and-the-psychology-of-brand-devotion
It also shows some insight into the phenomenon of reselling. Essentially it’s the fundamental theory of economics — supply vs demand. Supreme has transcended from being a skate label to street wear fashion.
Collaboration is also a smart move. Tie-ups with Nike, LV, Jordan, all bring their cult status to another whole new level. You know you’ve made it when there are tonnes of fakes for your designs out there in the wild. They have an online shop that doesn’t serve any purpose except to remind you that you’ll probably never be able to get any Supreme wear unless you get in the queue like everybody else. Heck, there’s even a queue in front of the queue. Personally I’m not the streetwear kinda guy, but this definitely sheds some light into why people are so obsessed over Supreme.