Supreme & The Empire Created

From Printed Shirts to Major Fashion

Dylan Curran

Investing in an apparel company can be very scary, there is no defiant success and
it is an industry that chews and spits out new up and coming designers every day. When
investing the ultimate goal is to buy into a well-built brand with low overhead; Supreme

Dylan Curran
Contemporary Designers
November 22nd 2014
is the definition of this. With a cult like following the brand can barely keep inventory
on the shelves, usually a majority of the items released that day are sold out by noon, and
with in minuets of the online store releasing normally the new products are gone.
The brand is owned and ran by James Jebbia a skilled and original street wear kid
of New York City, although born in London the vast majority of his life has been spent in
New York. In his fashion tenure he has been the driving force behind starting multiple
brands. Jebbia got his start working retail in Parachute, where he quickly learned all there
was to running a store and in a short time he was able to start opening up boutiques all
over downtown Manhattan. In this time he opened Union in 1989, and Stssy in 1991
but his most applauded boutique and brand was Supreme, which he opened in 1994.
With a mere $12,000 dollars he was able to open up the flagship store, and this was the
start to the global empire which Supreme is looked at as today.
Supreme started as a small skate shop, making small runs of simple printed tshirts, and embroidered sweatshirts, and of course skateboards. But quickly they were
able to secure bigger production and more reputable collaboration through the connection
Jebbia made growing up in New York and running Parachute, Union, and Stssy.
Although Jebbia had not technical skill for design he knew what could sell and he knew
how to build a brands value, he did this by starting with small collaborations, which
eventually lead to larger and more respectable brands and designers, and even celebrated
artists. Produced in limited editions, Jebbia regularly collaborates with mainstream
brands such as Comme des Garons, Levis and Vans, while past collaborations with
high-profile artists such as Damien Hirst, Takashi Murakami and Richard Prince, as well
as bands such as The Clash and The Misfits. These projects have helped propel the
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Contemporary Designers
November 22nd 2014
brands iconic status amongst youth counter-culture(BOF 500). Jebbia and the Supreme
brand realized that they were obviously not big enough to make a splash on their own,
but by teaming up with bigger recognizable brands they were quickly able to build an
empire.
Jebbia has brought in a few Creative Directors over the year, and each one has
helped to bring the brand to another level. Currently two men Angelo Baque, and
Brendon Babenzien run the brand. Angelo Baque is more the brand director where as
Brendon Babenzien is the creative director behind the brand. Baque attended the School
of Visual Arts(SVA), where he received some of his technical skills for design, while
attending SVA he ran Nom De Guerre, where he obtained the majority of his management
skills. While they've always invested in a non-marketing marketing strategyrelying
on quality products and word-of-mouth to do the selling for them. This sub rosa approach
worked well in terms of keeping the brand in the right circles, but definitely didn't stop
corny people from shelling out the dough to cop some gear Angelo's history as
manager of defunct, similarly underground brand Nom De Guerre means he knows a
thing or two about low-key marketing methods and how to keep a brand relevant
(Woolf). This is one the strategies that has set Supreme and their directors apart from
the rest of the industry, they have little to no marketing except for the craze of people
wanting to wear the clothing. Now for Brendon Babenzien there is not much information
online about him and his background in fashion, but what is known s the fact that he has
brought Supreme in the realm of luxury fashion. With Babenzien in charge of the brand
he has been able to obtain collaborations with Visvim, Loro Piana, and most surprisingly
Brooks Brothers. Featuring a custom fit and color way for Supreme, the two-piece suit
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Contemporary Designers
November 22nd 2014
will be offered in the Brooks Brothers Fitzgerald silhouette and will feature a matching
bucket hat. Renowned for being the first retailer to offer ready-to-wear suits to the
American consumer, the latest team-up further illustrates Supremes ability to collaborate
with brands across the board(Cardiner). This just goes to show the value that a small
brand can create, where they are working with some of the worlds largest designers.
As far as the product goes Supreme has a huge plethora of merchandise, the carry
knits, woven, sneakers, jackets and tops and bottoms. As well as skateboards and many
home dcor like items. But most of the acclaim comes from their collaborations in recent
years they have had the store shut down over limited edition Nike releases. Supreme
shut things down later into the evening, announcing: "Due to concern for public safety,
NYPD has forced us to not sell the Supreme/Nike Foamposites and accompanying
clothing in our New York Store(Chung). For a simple Nike product there was such
craze that the New York Police Department had to step in, in a marshal law like manor
and force the store to shut down fir the safety of the neighborhood and mainly for the
customers who were lucky enough to get the shoes.
In regard to opening a second New York location, it would defiantly be great to
keep the second store in close proximity to the first location. As far as location for the
second store something along the line of Crosby or Hester street would be a great
location because this area is a major fashion shopping area, by placing the store in that
area it allows to broaden the demographics of shoppers and helps to develop a larger
market share of customers and clientele.

In regards to store layout the second store

should be modeled after the first with a wide-open space, minimal product on the floor
and bits of art spread through out the store.
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Dylan Curran
Contemporary Designers
November 22nd 2014
When it comes to publicity and store opening, not much is needed for Supreme,
all that needs to happen is websites like Complex, or Hype beast to announce the new
store opening, and the floodgates will open with cult like following and the lines of
customers will follow. One thing that would be a great idea would be to have a shirt
made in honor of the new stores opening, this shirt can be purchased on the first day of
opening. While friends and family to the brand should be given the shirt a little earlier so
that customers can see the t-shirt which will help to create buzz about the up and coming
store opening. Like all Supreme products and lines the first collection should carry
pieces that pay gather inspiration from the 90s and New York, as well as inspiration from
the latest trends.
As far as investing in an apparel brand or lifestyle brands, the best thing to look
for is low overhead and a stung name; two things that Supreme has executed incredibly
well. If you are looking to invest, this is defiantly a brand to consider, all the ground
work has been laid by the brand founders and now as an investor you only need to help
them grow into a bigger empire, and just watch where the brand can go.

Work Cited
1. James Jebbia | BoF 500 | The Business of Fashion. (n.d.). Retrieved November 23,
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Contemporary Designers
November 22nd 2014
2. Cardiner, B. (2014, April 28). Supreme x Brooks Brothers Spring/Summer 2014
Collection | Highsnobiety. Retrieved November 23, 2014
3. Woolf, J. (2013, January 23). The 25 Most Powerful People In Streetwear.
Retrieved November 23, 2014
4. Chung, J. (2014, April 3). Photos, Videos: NYPD Shuts Down Massive Nike
Foamposite Sneakers Crowd. Retrieved November 23, 2014.