15 Things You Didn't Know About SUPREME

Fifteen things you didn't know about Supreme.

Welcome to a Lux Calm, the place where future billionaires come to get inspired. Hello, Alexters, and welcome to another exciting original video presented by Anil XCOM. Today we're talking about Supreme, an iconic New York City shop and brand that has built a cult-like following in different areas around the world. In 1994, Supreme was founded in Manhattan by James Jebbia. As it grew through the years, it became the epicenter of New York City's skate culture. When they began making original clothing under the Supreme brand, they developed a following of dedicated consumers, many of whom would not mind standing in line for more than 24 hours to get the latest product. Their limited supply releases have resulted in an underground retailing market where people can sell items for prices much higher than paid in stores.

Supreme has collaborated with a number of brands and products to create their unique and highly sought-after merchandise. Some of these include North Face, Nike, Levi's, Vans, Playboy, White Castle, and Louis Vuitton. If you're new here, welcome! Be sure to subscribe and follow us on Instagram at A Lux. Okay, that's enough background; it's time to look at the 15 things you didn't know about Supreme.

Number one: It costs only about twelve thousand dollars to open the first Supreme. In 1994, James Jebbia opened the first Supreme in a small storefront on Lafayette Street in downtown New York. He remembers that he only spent a total of about twelve thousand dollars to open the store. Rent was two thousand dollars, and the rest went to merchandise and the store set up.

Number two: The Supreme logo was the subject of a 2013 lawsuit. The Supreme logo is a distinctive red box logo with Supreme written in Futura Heavy Oblique font. This style was taken directly from the 1979 propaganda art of Barbara Kruger. Even though they didn't exactly come up with a design on their own, they sued Leah McSweeney for 10 million dollars in 2013 for using their logo style in her Married to the Mob brand. The original artist, Barbara Kruger, stays largely silent on the broad use of her style of art, not just from Supreme but several other brands. However, she did have a comment on the lawsuit, calling everyone involved "totally uncool losers" and going further to say, "I make my work about this sadly foolish farce. I'm waiting for all of them to sue me for copyright infringement."

Number three: They have never been a supply and demand business. Supreme doesn't follow the traditional supply and demand business model. They never have, and they probably never will. Jebbia has said that if he thinks he can sell 600 of something, he'll make 400 of them. The cult following of the brand allows them to limit production and still remain incredibly successful.

Number four: James Jebbia didn't trademark the Supreme logo until 2013. The trademark for the Supreme box logo was not filed until March of 2013, which coincided with Supreme's lawsuit against Married to the Mob. Jebbia also says he didn't officially own the Supreme name until 2012 because it was difficult to trademark.

Number five: Supreme skate decks sold at auction for more than sixteen thousand dollars. Supreme has worked with a number of artists over the years to create original skate decks that are always in high demand. In 2006, Supreme worked with artist Jeff Koons, who developed a trio of monkey-trained skate decks. A set of these decks were auctioned off at the legendary Christie's auction house in 2013. The auction house undervalued the skateboards, estimating they would only bring in from 3,000 to 5,000 dollars, but the actual selling price was sixteen thousand two hundred and fifty dollars.

Number six: A Supreme branded MetroCard was released in New York City. If you live in New York City, chances are a MetroCard is a common item you always have with you if you use the New York subway. But these cards became a hot commodity when the New York City Metro Transit Authority teamed up with Supreme in 2017 to offer Supreme branded MetroCards. The cards have the Supreme logo on the front and come with two fares pre-loaded. They were only available at select stations, but it was not announced where they would be. There was a frenzy at a number of stations as people tried desperately to get their hands on one of these cards. The cards initially sold for 5.50 but a number of cards have shown up on eBay and other e-commerce sites priced between $50 and $1,000.

Number seven: James Jebbia lives in a spacious loft in Greenwich Village, New York. James Jebbia has lived in New York City since he moved to America from London in 1983 and has lived in the heart of Greenwich Village with his family for over ten years. You might be a little surprised to find the apartment doesn't feature even a hint of the boldness of the Supreme brand. The spacious loft is open and minimalist, with neutral colored walls and brief displays of creative artistry, like a collection of porcelain ceramics by Picasso.

Number eight: Jebbia says he doesn't like the underground reselling market. One example of a resale is a box logo crewneck sweater that sold in-store for one hundred and thirty-eight dollars and then sold for nearly eight hundred dollars on eBay. The founder, James, is not a big fan of this secondary market, saying that Supreme tried to best make clothes that are affordable for young people. This might seem a little questionable since they offer limited products by design, but Jebbia says, "I don't like people getting jacked for a t-shirt. I much prefer if someone buys something from us that they plan on wearing and not selling."

Number nine: The Supreme brick sold out within minutes. It doesn't seem to matter what Supreme drops; it sells out within minutes. One perfect example of this is the Supreme brick that was released in September of 2016. The product was literally a red brick with the Supreme box logo etched onto it, and it sold out within minutes online and in stores. The red clay brick came from a box wrapped in bubble wrap and was sold for $30, but was listed for resale on sites such as eBay for up to one thousand dollars.

Number ten: There are more Supreme stores in Tokyo than in the entire U.S. There are only two Supreme stores in the U.S., in New York City and Los Angeles. This is partially by design because part of the Supreme sales concept is limited access. However, the people of Japan have three times as many Supreme stores to shop in. There are three located in Tokyo alone and three others in different Japanese cities. There is also a store in Paris and one in London. To find out more interesting facts about Tokyo, put in the upper right hand corner to check out our video of 15 things you didn't know about Tokyo.

Number eleven: The brand's name comes from John Coltrane's "A Love Supreme." The name for the store came from a song by legendary jazz saxophonist John Coltrane. Jebbia was inspired to name his brand after Coltrane's song "A Love Supreme."

Number twelve: A Supreme pop-up store in Sydney featured a $71,000 skateboard carrier. After the launch of a collaborative line of products between Louis Vuitton and Supreme in 2017, a pop-up shop appeared in various locations around the world to sell the goods. In Sydney, Australia, some people waited in line for over two days for their chance to be among the first to get their hands on these items. Justin Bieber even stopped by. The most expensive item was a heavily branded $71,000 skateboard carrier with a board and accessories included. Many who were able to purchase items quickly doubled their money by reselling the items to others further down the line. $700 t-shirts sold for $1,400, and a $1,400 red and white hoodie sold for $2,800 outside.

Number thirteen: The founder of the store was never a skateboarder. The founder of the store admits he was never a skater himself, but he always admired the graphics of skateboards, and he liked the rebellious spirit. He noticed there were a lot of people who worked for him at the Stussy store that loved skating, but there were no skateboard shops around. He thought there would be a market there, so he opened the store when he noticed a lack of quality clothing items available for young adult skaters. He started developing the store's clothing line, which quickly gained a cult following.

Number fourteen: Louis Vuitton issued a cease and desist letter to Supreme in the year 2001. Supreme manufactured SpaceX beanies and t-shirts featuring the iconic Louis Vuitton monogram print in the dark brown color associated with the brand without getting permission. The famous French fashion house sent a cease and desist order demanding that all products containing their print be burned to ensure they were not in circulation. Supreme took the order seriously, recalling all of the affected products, with which they had been selling for two weeks, and clearing themselves of all related items. In 2017, one of these recalled skateboards, which was purchased for $60 in the year 2000, sold on eBay for $10,000. There's obviously no more bad blood since Louis Vuitton and Supreme introduced a collaboration line on the runway during Paris Fashion Week in 2017.

Number fifteen: Police had to cancel a product drop after a riot almost broke out. In April 2014, the New York branch of Supreme scheduled a product drop of the Supreme Nike Air Foamposite 1. The store was set to open at 11:00 a.m. on a Thursday morning, but more than 1,000 people were lined up at the Soho store the night before. This caused a problem when portions of the crowd tried to rush the store and were met with members of the New York City Police Department. The police had set up barricades, but when at first one and then many people tried to rush the store, the police began spraying people with mace, and the scene turned into mass chaos. The drop was then canceled. The shoes were $250 each and were expected to resell for $1,000.

Now that you've learned more about Supreme, do you think the brand is worth the hype? Let us know what you think in the comments. Thanks for sticking around to the end, dedicated Aluxers! Here's a bonus fact just for you. Although the brand is known for its underground cult following, of course, some celebrities have gotten in on the trend. Celebrities who've been seen wearing the Supreme brand include Drake, Diddy, Kanye West, Victoria Beckham, Rihanna, Kendall Jenner, Jonah Hill, Lady Gaga, and Pharrell.

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