In 1994, James Jebbia opened the first Supreme location in a small storefront on Lafayette Street in New York. At the time, Supreme was a brand for skaters by skaters—even the design for the shop was more open so skaters could come right in with their skateboards. But today, 21 years later, Supreme is a legendary streetwear brand thats cultivated a cult following well beyond that original fan base. Continuing to release product in tightly controlled, limited amounts, the brand is as big as it wants to be in New York, Los Angeles, and London; a titan in Japan—arguably its largest market.\r
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Complex has covered Supreme for well over a decade (Complex was founded in 2002). Most of it was from afar; we wrote about releases or lookbooks. But for the last year or so, our Complex News team has been reporting from the Lafayette Street shop to cover in-store launches. Every story was the same: Lines snaked around the block, kids camped out for hours or days, sometimes even in subfreezing temperatures, just to get any Supreme item. Each Thursday drop was chaos. In April 2014, the NYPD canceled the Supreme x Nike Air Foamposite One in-store launch at the NYC flagship after a riot nearly broke out earlier that day.\r
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But there was something much bigger here. We learned that many were in line to purchase gear that theyd later flip online for big profits, selling apparel and other items for as much as 1,200 percent above retail value. “We started to get to know these people and realized there was a business here and real money to be made,” explains Emily Oberg, Complex Editorial Producer and one of the directors of this documentary. While the reselling market is hardly new, and people have been selling Supreme online for years, its yet to be the focus of serious investigation—until now.\r
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The first episode of Sold Out: The Underground Economy of Supreme Resellers lays the foundation for the story at hand. Legendary writer Glenn OBrien, along with top menswear editors, make sense of the hype around Supreme and explain the brands success. We also introduce you to the world of Supreme reselling where $40 T-shirts can be upsold to $500.\r
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Chief Content Officer: Noah Callahan-Bever\r
Executive Producer: Marc Fernandez\r
Director of Video Production: Justin Lundstrom\r
Producers: Emily Oberg, Davy Gomez, Cornell Brown, Ross Scarano \r
Associate Producers: Xavier Andrews, Olga Encarnacion\r
Directors: Davy Gomez, Emily Oberg\r
Writer: Emily Oberg, James Harris\r
Editor & Cinematographer Davy Gomez\r
Tokyo Cinematographer: David Allen\r
Los Angeles Cinematographer: Natalie Edgar\r
London Cinematographer: Beatriz Sastre\r
Drone Operator: Gladimir Nym\r
Colorist Courtney Feemster\r
Music Supervisor: Emily Oberg\r
Graphics: Brent Rollins, Jonathan Fouabi\r
Animation: Chi Chuang\r
Researchers: Kajal Patel, Asim Ismael\r
Sound Mixer: Speedy Morman\r
Production Assistants: Kajal Patel, John Tashiro, Marques Leonard\r
Footage Courtesy of: Mass Appeal, Flatbush Zombies, NBC News, Freshness Mag, RB Umali, Yu-Ming Wu\r
Barbara Kruger Untitled (I shop therefore I am) 1987\r
Courtesy: Mary Boone Gallery, New York\r
\r
Featured Guests \r
Executive Editor, HighSnobiety Jeff Carvalho\r
FMR Deputy Style Editor, COMPLEX Style Jian DeLeon\r
Fashion Editor, COMPLEX Style Matthew Henson\r
Stylist Racks Hogan\r
Founder, Maekan Eugene Kan\r
FMR Editor-in-Chief, four pins Lawrence Schlossman\r
Supreme Security Charles Scotti\r
Writer Glenn OBrien\r
Reseller Andre, @SoleStreetSneakerCo\r
Reseller @CopVsDrop\r
Reseller @Kickz_N_Preme\r
Reseller Methikan\r
Reseller @Sole_Possession_\r
Reseller @Sole_Reserve\r
Collector @SolePremeCon\r
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Special Thanks: Donnie Kwak, Lawrence Schlossman, Glenn OBrien, Gavin Bond, Raf Moses, Kevin Paz, Keith Cecere, Lucas Wisenthal, Leland Ware, Alexis Quintero, \r
Lori Mason, Andrew Gordon, Rickey Mindlin\r
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Subscribe to Complex for More: \r
Check out more of Complex here:\r
\r
\r
\r
\r
\r
\r
COMPLEX is a community of creators and curators, armed with the Internet, committed to surfacing and sharing the voices and conversations that define our new America. Our videos exemplify convergence culture, exploring topics that include music, sneakers, style, sports and pop culture through original shows and Complex News segments. Featuring your favorite celebrities, authoritative commentary, and a unique voice, our videos make culture pop.
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Complex has covered Supreme for well over a decade (Complex was founded in 2002). Most of it was from afar; we wrote about releases or lookbooks. But for the last year or so, our Complex News team has been reporting from the Lafayette Street shop to cover in-store launches. Every story was the same: Lines snaked around the block, kids camped out for hours or days, sometimes even in subfreezing temperatures, just to get any Supreme item. Each Thursday drop was chaos. In April 2014, the NYPD canceled the Supreme x Nike Air Foamposite One in-store launch at the NYC flagship after a riot nearly broke out earlier that day.\r
\r
But there was something much bigger here. We learned that many were in line to purchase gear that theyd later flip online for big profits, selling apparel and other items for as much as 1,200 percent above retail value. “We started to get to know these people and realized there was a business here and real money to be made,” explains Emily Oberg, Complex Editorial Producer and one of the directors of this documentary. While the reselling market is hardly new, and people have been selling Supreme online for years, its yet to be the focus of serious investigation—until now.\r
\r
The first episode of Sold Out: The Underground Economy of Supreme Resellers lays the foundation for the story at hand. Legendary writer Glenn OBrien, along with top menswear editors, make sense of the hype around Supreme and explain the brands success. We also introduce you to the world of Supreme reselling where $40 T-shirts can be upsold to $500.\r
\r
\r
Chief Content Officer: Noah Callahan-Bever\r
Executive Producer: Marc Fernandez\r
Director of Video Production: Justin Lundstrom\r
Producers: Emily Oberg, Davy Gomez, Cornell Brown, Ross Scarano \r
Associate Producers: Xavier Andrews, Olga Encarnacion\r
Directors: Davy Gomez, Emily Oberg\r
Writer: Emily Oberg, James Harris\r
Editor & Cinematographer Davy Gomez\r
Tokyo Cinematographer: David Allen\r
Los Angeles Cinematographer: Natalie Edgar\r
London Cinematographer: Beatriz Sastre\r
Drone Operator: Gladimir Nym\r
Colorist Courtney Feemster\r
Music Supervisor: Emily Oberg\r
Graphics: Brent Rollins, Jonathan Fouabi\r
Animation: Chi Chuang\r
Researchers: Kajal Patel, Asim Ismael\r
Sound Mixer: Speedy Morman\r
Production Assistants: Kajal Patel, John Tashiro, Marques Leonard\r
Footage Courtesy of: Mass Appeal, Flatbush Zombies, NBC News, Freshness Mag, RB Umali, Yu-Ming Wu\r
Barbara Kruger Untitled (I shop therefore I am) 1987\r
Courtesy: Mary Boone Gallery, New York\r
\r
Featured Guests \r
Executive Editor, HighSnobiety Jeff Carvalho\r
FMR Deputy Style Editor, COMPLEX Style Jian DeLeon\r
Fashion Editor, COMPLEX Style Matthew Henson\r
Stylist Racks Hogan\r
Founder, Maekan Eugene Kan\r
FMR Editor-in-Chief, four pins Lawrence Schlossman\r
Supreme Security Charles Scotti\r
Writer Glenn OBrien\r
Reseller Andre, @SoleStreetSneakerCo\r
Reseller @CopVsDrop\r
Reseller @Kickz_N_Preme\r
Reseller Methikan\r
Reseller @Sole_Possession_\r
Reseller @Sole_Reserve\r
Collector @SolePremeCon\r
\r
Special Thanks: Donnie Kwak, Lawrence Schlossman, Glenn OBrien, Gavin Bond, Raf Moses, Kevin Paz, Keith Cecere, Lucas Wisenthal, Leland Ware, Alexis Quintero, \r
Lori Mason, Andrew Gordon, Rickey Mindlin\r
\r
Subscribe to Complex for More: \r
Check out more of Complex here:\r
\r
\r
\r
\r
\r
\r
COMPLEX is a community of creators and curators, armed with the Internet, committed to surfacing and sharing the voices and conversations that define our new America. Our videos exemplify convergence culture, exploring topics that include music, sneakers, style, sports and pop culture through original shows and Complex News segments. Featuring your favorite celebrities, authoritative commentary, and a unique voice, our videos make culture pop.
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TV