I had a Supreme Christmas! And wish you all the best for a Supreme New Year!

Supreme is a skateboarding brand that was set up as a store selling Stussy merchandise in New York, 1994. Founded by James Jebbia primarily for skateboarders, the store design and merchandising was built around the target audience. Small details like the middle of the store being vacant and the merchandise outlining the store meant that skateboarders could walk in with their gear and not feel claustrophobic.

What started out as a multi-brand outlet, eventually blew up to be the legendary and iconic brand that it is today. With the first store opening in Lafayette Street, Manhattan; Supreme consciously limit access to their products by opening only 10 stores globally and making single issue merchandise at low numbers. They have about 2 stores in the United States, their home country and about 5 – 6 stores in Japan, 1 in Great Britain and 1 in Paris, France.

Unlike other brands, Supreme does not drop an entire collection in one go. Instead, it releases a few pieces every Thursday (10 on an average) at 11 AM. And these weekly drops see people camping outside their stores for over 24 hours at times. A few drops like their collaboration with Nike for a Foamposite sneaker had to be cancelled after the crowd turned out to be unmanageable. This limited access, coupled with the fact that nothing made once will be reproduced created the hype around this brand. A box logo tee retails at around $ 50 but resells at close to 10 times the price. And that is a minimum reselling price.

Supreme has collaborated with some of the most known names in the streetwear business like Nike, adidas Originals, Vans, BAPE, New Era and Puma. At the helm of their minimal (yet stunning) visual is legendary photographer Terry Richardson.

Like I said earlier, Supreme began as a store that would sell other brands till they developed into a brand of their own. They still retail skateboarding brands other than theirs, at all stores. Brands like Vans, Nike SB and Thrasher are amongst the select few sold at Supreme stores.

And since it is Christmas, I decided to gift myself something that was Red and White, much like Santa Claus. And the only iconic brand I could think of in that colorway was Supreme. Sure, there is Coca Cola but then I have way too much soda for my own good.

Getting your hands on Supreme merchandise is no child’s play. And I only have Sahil and Shrikant to thank for this!

I spent the Christmas evening at Brigade Road, Bangalore post a rather heavy brunch. How did you celebrate yours?

Shot by Vishal Dey for Bowties and Bones.