Supreme Report

sexis m in streetwear

a crticical analysis & marketing strategy proposal for supreme 1

Sexism In Streetwear: A Critical Analysis & Marketing
Strategy Proposal For Supreme
Josie Taylor
N0724851

2

Fashion Concepts & Innovation
FASH30109

Supervisor: Stella Claxton
Word Count: 6528

3

apter o wo
ne ree
the marketch ch pages 9 - 16 hapter t
pages 17 - 34
apter th cpages 35 - 42 the brand

4 the consumer

apter f
our ix
ve
chapter fi pages 43 - 50 sexism in street
c chpages 51 - 58
the proposal pages 59 - 96 hapter s

conclusion 5

l ist of figures

Figure 1: Market Mapping Diagram, Authors Own (2020).
Figure 2: Supreme Brand Identity Prism, Authors Own (2020).
Figure 3: Supreme Brand Equity Pyramid, Authors Own (2020).
Figure 4: SWOT Analysis of Supreme, Authors own (2020).
Figure 5: Diffusion Of Innovation of Supreme Consumer, Authors Own (2020)
Figure 6: Target Consumer Profile, Authors Own (2020)
Figure 7: McKinsey., 2018. The Search For The Truth Is At The Root Of All Generation Z’s
behaviour [digital image]. McKinsey. Available at: https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/
consumer-packaged-goods/our-insights/true-gen-generation-z-and-its-implications-for-
companies [Accessed 20 May 2020.
Figure 8: Ansoffs Matrix, Authors Own (2020)
Figure 9: Illustration of Campaign Proposal, Authors Own (2020)
Figure 10: Mock Image of Campaign Poster, Authors Own (2020)

6

Page 1. Araki, N., 2017. Supreme X Araki [digital image]. Instagram. Available at: https://www.instagram.com/p/BMOt7xlhxqH/ [Accessed 19 May

2020].

Page 8. Lavenia, C., 2019. Guests In Supreme [digital image]. Getty. Available at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/zoewong1/2019/07/31/heres-how-

brands-are-using-the-streetwear-trend-to-attract-gen-z/#476b92061664 [Accessed 19 May 2020].

Page 8. The Kit, 2018. Karrueche Trran [digital image]. The Kit. Available at: https://thekit.ca/style/celebrity-style/celeb-streetwear-2018/ [Accessed 19

May 2020].

Page 11. Grossman, A., 2020. The Best Streetwear Brands To Keep Watching In 2020 [digital image]. Esquire. Available at: https://www.esquire.com/

style/mens-fashion/g31190365/best-streetwear-brands/ [Accessed 19 May 2020].

Page 14: Melton, M., 2017. Two young women stopped to hoist their signs over their head during the women’s march as on lookers with cameras took

pictures, myself included. It was one of many moments that felt joyous during the march [digital image]. Unsplash. Available at: https://unsplash.com/

photos/sLwkS2P-Ryw [Accessed 19 May 2020].

Page 15. Wollens, H., 2020. Bella Hadid For Vogue Italia [digital image]. Vogue. Available at: https://www.repulostailors.com/post/fashion-during-

quarantine [Accessed 19 May 2020].

Page 16. Estrop, 2017. Christopher Shannon’s Lovers Direct T-shirt, on the catwalk this year [digital image]. Getty Images. Available at: https://www.

theguardian.com/fashion/2017/dec/30/bootleg-logos-designers-copyright-fashion [Accessed 19 May 2020].

Page 18. Klekt,. N.D. Image of customers outside Supreme storefront in the 90’s [digital image]. Klekt. Available at: https://www.klekt.com/blog/a-

history-of-supreme-from-independent-skate-shop-to-global-powerhouse_i1045 [Accessed 19 May 2020].

Page 20. Lee, J, 2018. The History Of Supreme With a NYC Skate Crew Of The 90s [digital image]. Streetwear Jobs. Available at: https://blog.

streetwearjobs.com/history-of-supreme [Accessed 19 May 2020].

Page 24. Salamone, L., 2020. Is this new Crewneck from Supreme a Box Logo or not? [digital image]. NSS Magazine. Available at: https://www.nssmag.

com/en/fashion/22151/supreme-cutout-logo [Accessed 19 May 2020].

Page 28. Coleagles,. N.D. Supreme x LV [digital image]. Pinterest. Available at: https://www.pinterest.ca/pin/617908011348944376/ [Accessed 19 May

2020].

Page 29. Supreme, 2020. Supreme Oreo Cookie [digital image]. Instagram. Available at: https://www.cosmopolitan.com/food-cocktails/a31041248/

supreme-oreos-resell-price-ebay/ [Accessed 19 May 2020].

Page 30. Dean Kauman, N.D. Supreme Store [digital image]. Arch Daily. Available at: https://www.archdaily.com/895209/supreme-store-neil-logan-arc

hitect/5b088e6df197cca964000046-supreme-store-neil-logan-architect-photo [Accessed 19 May 2020].

Page 31. Richardson, T., 2011. Lady Gaga For Supreme [digital image]. Grailed. Available at: https://www.grailed.com/drycleanonly/matthew-

williams-28-1 [Accessed 20 May 2020].

Page 34. 032C, N.D. Supreme Consumer Collage [digital image]. 032C. Available at: https://032c.com/supreme/ [Accessed 20 May 2020].

Page 36. Sibley, E., 2019. Proposed Consumer Demographic [digital image]. Blogspot. Available at: http://fmcelisesibley.blogspot.com/2019/01/

moodboard-proposed-consumer-demographic.html [Accessed 20 May 2020].

Page 37. Dahlgren, P., 2019. The Global Streetwear Report [digital image]. NSS Magazine. Available at: https://www.nssmag.com/en/fashion/18643/

global-streetwear-report [Accessed 20 May 2020]

Page 42. Lee, J, 2018. The History Of Supreme With An Original Supreme Print Advert [digital image]. Streetwear Jobs. Available at: https://blog.

streetwearjobs.com/history-of-supreme [Accessed 19 May 2020].

Page 44. Chadwick, T., 2018. Supreme X Hysteric Glamour [digital image]. XOXOCO. Available at: https://xoxoco.co/supreme-hysteric/ [Accessed 20

May 2020].

Page 45. I Love Ugly., 2015. Jewellery Ring Campaign [digital image]. Daily Mail. Available at: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-3344050/

New-Zealand-clothing-company-Love-Ugly-fire-jewellery-campaign-showing-man-s-hands-covering-naked-woman-s-private-parts.html [Accessed 20

May 2020].

Page 47. Riot, R., 2018. When The Reseller Assumes You Only Want The Pink Colourway [digital image]. Hypebeast. Available at: https://hypebeast.

com/2018/3/sexism-streetwear-women-boys-club [Accessed 20 May 2020].

Page 48. Araki, N., 2017. Supreme X Araki [digital image]. NSS Magazine. Available at: https://www.nssmag.com/en/fashion/9290/nobuyoshi-araki-

x-supreme [Accessed 20 May 2020].

Page 50. Kelly-Sinclair, P., N.D. Supreme x Kate Moss Poster [digital image]. Pinterest. Available at: https://www.pinterest.co.uk/

pin/389983648966614108/ [Accessed 20 May 2020].

Page 54. Dress For Success,. 2018. Community Lending Shelf – Dress For Success [digital image]. CKFM. Available at: https://www.ckfm.ca/news/local-

news/community-lending-shelf-dress-for-success1/ [Accessed 20 May 2020]. 7

background

As the Streetwear market continues to see
prolific growth succeeding its upsurge in
popularity in 2017, where a 157% increase in
branded and non-branded streetwear search
terms were seen (Jetley, 2019), debate around
the role of the market in pushing a sexist
agenda has arose. Described as a “boys club”
(McGarrigle, 2018), the streetwear market
has traditionally been male dominated as
a consequence of its origins in New York
boroughs from sport and hip-hop culture,
thereupon the traditional, male streetwear
consumer lies protective over the market due
to its intrinsic connections to their lifestyle
and history – Macedo (2015) deemed their
behaviour as “almost religious, like a cult”.
Consequently, the representation of women
by streetwear brands within their visual
marketing has become distorted despite
women accounting for a large, and growing,
percentage of the market – in 1993, 30%
of Stussy’s consumers were female and in
2019, Natalia Maczek, founder of streetwear
label ‘MISBHV’, reported that 60% of her
consumers were female (Biondi, 2019).

1

Sexism in brand marketing and advertising is not a As wider society has seen trends
new issue – journals from the 1990’s report of “the toward women empowerment and
excessive use of sexist stereotypes, especially of gender equality in recent years, the
women” of the proceeding two decades (Lyonski & impact of social movements such
Pollay, 1990). Whilst today brands have widely tried as ‘#MeToo’ is being seen within
to circumvent pushing the agenda of the traditional the fashion industry. In 2019, Ted
female role – cleaning and fulfilling household duties – Baker chief executive Ray Kelvin
that was seen so widely throughout visual marketing was forced to resign from his
throughout the 1950’s (Catalano, 2002), there has been role following numerous sexual
an upsurge in the use of sexualised images which are harassment allegations (Kollewe,
argued to largely objectify the young females seen 2019). It consequently becomes
within the advertisements. In just 2020, fast fashion more important for brands to
brand Miss Guided saw one of their campaigns, identify this issue of sexism
showing a female posing in a blazer with nothing throughout their visual marketing
underneath, banned by the ASA (Advertising Standards in order to portray a message
Authority) for being “overly sexualised” (Petter, 2020). of support to their consumers
The streetwear market is not to be excluded from this. who are increasingly holding
Bobby Hundreds, co-founder of streetwear brand The said brands accountable for such
Hundreds, identified the issue by proclaiming “when social topics as gender equality.
women are portrayed, they’re either a half-naked
girl on a blog or the cool girlfriend — that’s women This project aims to develop a
in streetwear.” (Milnes, 2017). McKenzie et al (2018) marketing campaign proposal for
found that in magazine ads, 50% of women are seen streetwear brand Supreme, which
as sexual objects and that such representation has a targets female gen-z consumers
negative impact on women’s body image even if they are by the means of challenging
identified as being in a “sexually powerful” position. gender norms and sexuality that
are often portrayed within visual
marketing of streetwear brands.

2

wh y supreme
?
Supreme has been selected as the brand for this project
due to it being a leading brand within the market -
when asked which brand represents streetwear the
most to the consumer 78% of respondents said Supreme
(Hypebeast, 2019). Furthermore, through observation
of visual marketing campaigns within the streetwear
market, Supreme is one of the main streetwear brands
to over-sexualise females within its visual marketing
and has done little to engage its female consumers
through strategy. This could be a result of the brands
strong market position and brand loyalty, meaning
the company feels little need to develop a strategy to
target women. Nevertheless, this project will argue that
such a visual marketing strategy will allow Supreme
to increase brand awareness and gain new female
customers, strengthening its position within the market.

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ai m s and
obje
c t i ve s

Aim: To develop a campaign proposal for Supreme that addresses
issues surrounding female representation in marketing in the Western
Streetwear market in order to target Female Gen-Z consumers

Objective 1: To examine the external macro-environment in relation to
gender issues and apply relevant marketing theories in order to identify
opportunities for expansion within Supremes existing marketing strategy

Objective 2: To understand the core identity and values of Supreme which influence
its current marketing strategy and its ability to target its female consumer base

Objective 3: To investigate the values and behaviours of female gen-z
consumers in relation to their relationship with brands and purchasing
behaviour, in order to understand how brands are able to target this consumer

Objective 4: To produce a rationalised campaign strategy plan for Supreme which
targets female gen-z consumers by means of addressing the identified social issues

4

met hodology

A series of primary and secondary research methods have been
used throughout the development of the study to gain insights
into consumer attitudes and behaviour, in order to develop a
deeper understanding of the streetwear market and the tools with
which businesses can use to expand their target consumer base.

The majority of the primary research obtained is qualitative, due
to the subjective nature of the attitudes towards visual marketing
strategies, as well as the nature of semiotics that lies within this.
A survey was undertaken, gaining a mixture of qualitative and
quantitative data, which was utilised to gain an understanding of
consumer attitudes towards the streetwear market overall and the
influences on their purchasing behaviour. The sample size of the
survey was 62, with respondents gathered from a variety of online
streetwear forums in order to ensure that the findings reflect the
behaviours of streetwear consumers as opposed to the mass market.

5

Two focus groups were conducted, which gave significant insight into
the experiences of female consumers within the streetwear market and
their opinions on the perceptions of women by streetwear brands and
peers. Semiotic analysis was used within the focus group by presenting
participants with imagery used by streetwear brands and asking
for the individuals to firstly describe the imagery, before explaining
how it made them feel. Consequently, the data assists the study in
providing an understanding of the impact different imagery has on
the purchasing intentions of female streetwear consumers, allowing
the final output to efficiently meet the overall aim of developing
a streetwear campaign which targets female gen-z consumers.

Extensive secondary research has proved essential to the study, in order
to obtain quantitative data to support the qualitative findings from the
primary research. Market reports relay performance information relating
to the streetwear market which underpin the rationale for the study.

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glo
ssa
ry
Hype: A business strategy where high demand is stimulated
around a product, usually due to its exclusivity which
creates a stir in the media around the brand and product

Hypebeast: A consumer who is highly devoted to streetwear
products, they fight to obtain all the latest products no
matter how scarce within the market, often those seen
queuing weekly to purchase the newest Supreme products.

Product drop: A new business strategy largely introduced
by streetwear brands, products are released typically with
little warning in limited quantity. This creates a sense of
urgency and exclusivity for the product which consumers
seek. For Supreme, their product drops occur every
Thursday during release season, making the product release
a large event, untypical for traditional fashion brands.

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8

ch apter one

the market

9

The global streetwear market was (2017), founder of lucrative streetwear
worth approximately $185 billion in company ‘The Hundreds’ supported
2019 (Leeb et al, 2019), accounting this claim by saying “streetwear is
for approximately 10% of the global about culture, it’s not about clothing”.
fashion industry. The definition of Consequently, streetwear brands
streetwear has been a topic of debate, must develop a relationship with their
although in survey conducted on consumers which goes beyond that of
behalf of this report respondents a transactional bond, as the markets
defined streetwear for themselves consumers want to belong to the
through the use of terms such as community of streetwear and do so by
“sporty, cool and urban”. Practically building knowledge of brand history.
speaking, streetwear has been defined
as combining “elements of sportswear streetwear is
and military forms, mostly based on about culture,
subcultures such as skateboarding, it’s not about
and hip-hop” (Shukurova, 2018). clothing
As the streetwear market was
founded on a history of skateboard
and music culture, elements of these
subcultures are projected throughout
the brands and products we see today.
The use of basic logos printed on
t-shirts and hoodies began within the
streetwear market, now expanding
into the mainstream market (Bain,
2019). Nevertheless, the intrinsic
connections between the streetwear
market and consumer identity suggest
that the importance of the market to
its consumers goes further than an
aesthetic purpose – Bobby Hundreds

10

11

lea
nds
ding bra

There are many streetwear rooted respect it has gained
giants within the streetwear from consumers and brands
market, who have been able alike. In 2015, the brand was
to solidify the identity of the worth $50 million (Yeung,
market that is so prominent 2015). Another brand which
today. Whilst this study will focus closely reflects the identity of the
on Supreme, there are many streetwear market is Off-White.
competitors for the brand whose Brand founder, Virgil Abloh,
strategies and identity continue was appointed as the men’s
to influence consumer behaviour artistic director of Louis Vuitton
within the market daily. in 2018 (Cochrane, 2018),
The movement of streetwear showing the respect that the
was founded by Stussy, making streetwear market and brands
it a brand with a huge influence have been able to gain within
over the market due to the deep the wider fashion industry.

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PESTLE

For the purpose of this report, a PESTLE has been conducted
in reference to the wider streetwear market, within the UK &
the US, in order to gain insight into the macroeconomic factors
which may fundamentally influence the business strategies
of streetwear brands, including their visual marketing. The
full PESTLE can be viewed in appendix 1.0, however some
key aspects have been identified and can be seen as follows.

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social

In recent years, society has seen a significant rise
in social, ethical awareness – this has created an
‘age of acceptance’ (Wardle, 2016), accompanied
by a protest culture amongst youths. According
to one survey, around 25% of gen-z members
have participated in some sort of protest and are
identified as being the most liberal generation
in regards to social issues, such as same-
sex marriage, to date (Padmanabhan, 2019).

For brands, it becomes important to be aware
of these social issues, such as LGBT, gender and
ethnic rights, as consumers will hold brands
accountable if they act immorally through the
method of boycott, 69% of gen-z consumers
are more likely to contribute to a brand that
contributes to social causes, with 33% refusing
to purchase from brands that work for causes
with which they do not support (Dugan, 2019).

Visually, this allows brands to be creative
in portraying a message of support to gen-z
consumers. Brands may take measures to create
new objectives through their visual marketing
in these circumstances, such as increasing brand
awareness or increasing brand loyalty, as
opposed to increasing profit, in order to create
an authentic relationship with their consumers.

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tec hnologica The COVID-19 pandemic has seen
l an increase in the use of technology
15 both globally and within the fashion
industry, meaning it becomes more
important for fashion brands to utilise
their use of technology. Events such as
Shanghai fashion week have already
been conducted online, attended by
2.5 million people (Mallon, 2020),
suggesting that global fashion events
will move to the digital world in the
near future in order to combat the
coronavirus. Events such as trade shows
are also forecast to shift to digital, a
strategy which also helps to combat the
climate effect of the fashion industry.
For brands, this means they have to
develop new, innovative measures to sell
their message to consumers, particularly
if social distancing measures remain in
place creating restrictions on marketing
capabilities. Fashion photography is
predicted to see significant changes,
with the rise of the use of zoom and
facetime photoshoots, a new visual
trend which has emerged from the
coronavirus pandemic (Milner, 2020).

The streetwear market has a solid history alleg
of legal issues and battles. The use of
bootlegs is very prominent within the 16
streetwear market – defined as the “creative
appropriation of brands, mimicking the
original but making it the designers own,
resulting in a unique looking product”
(Thrifted, 2019). The laws behind the extent
to which brands can conduct this behaviour
are complex and open to interpretation,
however cases where brands simply
use the visual design of another brand
and exclude the name are able to avoid
trademark infringement cases (Leach, 2018).
Supreme are one of the larger brands
accused of doing this, though it has seen
lawsuits against them from brands such
as Louis Vuitton. Nevertheless, the use of
bootleg designs within visual marketing
can be a clever tactic by brands as the
designs already have existing connotations
to consumers meaning a message is
easily portrayed. Furthermore, as debate
around the use of bootlegs appears to
be on the rise, brands often capitalise on
the controversy caused by such actions
in order to generate brand awareness.

ch apter t wo

the brand

17

In 1994, James Jebbia opened a small grow to the extent identified. According to a
store on Lafeyette street, New York (Lee, survey conducted in 2019, when asked which
2018), with little knowledge of the clothing brand represents streetwear the most to the
giant it was about to become – Supreme. consumer 78% of respondents said Supreme
The skating scene was already prevalent (Hypebeast, 2019). This figure shows the
within New York, meaning the intrusion power and influence that the Supreme has
of traditional skate brand Supreme was within the streetwear market, acting as a
warmly welcomed by young men dedicating figurehead for the culture to wider society.
their lives to the sport. Within years, Jebbia Consequently, it becomes increasingly
was expanding his brand internationally, important for the brand to maintain strong
and the infamous ques which still form relations with its consumers, one which must
outside the stores globally today had made go beyond a transactional means, in order to
their mark on the streets of New York. maintain this prime position within the market.
Supreme consistently engage in and release
collaborative collections with established
brands, most prominently the Louis Vuitton
collaboration in 2017 – a significant moment
which displayed the value of the brand
towards the fashion industry, especially
as Louis Vuitton had sued Supreme for the
copyrighted use of its iconic monogram
print just 17 years prior (Wolf, 2017).

In 2017, Supreme sold a stake of the
company worth $500 million to the Carlyle
group, allowing the company to be valued
at $1 billion (Muriuki, 2020) – a significant
amount for a brand only 23 years old at
the time. Despite its size, Supreme has only
12 stores globally, increasing its exclusive
appeal which has allowed the company to

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The nature of the streetwear market and culture means that
Supreme has been able to build itself a phenomenal level of brand
loyalty amongst its consumers. Most visibly, this relationship can
be seen during Supreme’s drop season, where 3 person deep
ques are visible globally on city streets weekly, as consumers
anticipate purchasing the newest Supreme garments. Beneficial
for the brand, this level of recognition gives them a competitive
edge by ensuring sell-outs weekly, as well as creating a stir via
social media which acts as a free marketing tool for the company.

19

20

mar
ing
ket mapp

Supreme’s position within the global fashion market has been one
of debate, as its roots as a streetwear brand conflict its strategy and
consequent consumer perception. According to Hypebeast (2019),
27% of consumers view streetwear brands as ‘high-street fashion
companies’, followed closely by 25% of consumers describing
streetwear as ‘mid-market’. Nevertheless, Supreme kickstarted
the strategy now used by hundreds of brands, streetwear and non-
streetwear, internationally – the “drop model” (Benigson, 2017). Based
on artificial scarcity, this strategy closely reflects models used by luxury
brands and has resulted in Supreme being perceived as a luxury brand
due to its exclusivity in comparison to its streetwear competitors.
This is supported by Supremes engagement with luxury brands,
such as the previously mentioned 2017 Louis Vuitton collaboration.

A market mapping model has been produced to highlight the position
of Supreme as a mid-luxury brand within the Streetwear market,
in comparison to streetwear and luxury brands alike in order to
show its unique position which gives it a competitive advantage.
Whilst Supreme prices are affordable compared to luxury brands,
and in line with that of similar streetwear brands, the perceived
value of the brand is in line with that of luxury brands due to the
signified message of elitism that is attached to the Supreme brand.

21

high price

low perceived value high perceived value

low price 22
Figure 1: Market Mapping Diagram, Authors Own (2020).

the logo

The Supreme logo, the standard red box
in minimalistic font, has become infamous
around the globe. The logo acts as a
semiotic signifier by which consumers
display their knowledge and involvement
within the streetwear culture. According
to Helmie and Syafrudin (2018), the
Supreme logo signifies “the elite, purity
and courage”, supported by the red
logo, a colour which personates bravery
and strength. The title of the brand itself
“Supreme” means “the highest rank
of authority” (Oxford Dictionary, n.d.),
dictating that the brand is above all else
within society. The notions which have
become attached to this logo provide
the brand with a USP as consumers
seek to wear the logo in order to
portray a message to wider society, thus
increasing brand awareness and sales.

23

24

f e r er’s Kapferer’s brand identity prism is a business model
which allows the characteristics of a brand to be
n d identi dissected in order to identify the values that are
kap perceived to the consumer, so as to better understand
the brand and therefore develop a strategy which will
bra align with the values of both brand and consumer.
ty Kapferer identifies 6 key elements to a brands identity:

1. Physique – the external characteristics used to
describe and identify the brand

2. Personality – the human characteristics which
represent the attitude of the brand

3. Relationship – the human relationships that the
brand forms, with itself or amongst consumers

4. Culture – the principles which form the basis of
the nature of the brand such as common interests
and hobbies

5. Reflection – the customers ideal presentation
of a consumer of the brand, the image they want to
export

6. Self-Image - the consumers perception of
themselves, they must find confirmation of this
through the brand

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picture of sender

physique personality
classic red box logo unique, stamd out
statement making
rare, exclusive market leader
simple yet identifiable font cool, contemporary

quality

externalisation relationship culture internalisation
tight bonds over sport and music skate
collective items, exclusivity, building relationships hip-hop
to become more knowledgeable on product drops surf
art and photography
loyal customers

reflection self-image
young, fashion forward trendy, indie, unique
artistic, knowledgable
confident, wealthy
rebellious

Figure 2: Supreme Brand Identity picture of receiver
Prism, Authors Own (2020).
26

ll e r ’s u i t y resonance what about you and me?

n d eq Strong brand loyalty, con-
sumers feel attached to the
e
brand, guaranteed sales
a and engagement

k judgement feelings what about you? Figure 3: Supreme Brand Equity Pyr-
amid, Authors Own (2020).
br Exclusive yet affordable, Sense of community,
luxury clothing, sought belonging. Superiority to
after, statement making
others, success

performance imagery what are you?

Provides quality, unique skate Individual, unique, bold, sporty
clothing and accessories, as well as

everyday clothing and products

salience who are you?
Market leader within the streetwear market,
Innovative, forward thinking brand with unique strategy
Traditional skate clothes made modern, logo prints on hoodies and t-shirts as

well as accessories

Keller’s brand equity model suggests that there are 4 stages to building a relationship between brands
and consumers, in order to sustain a positive brand equity. The model can be viewed as a pyramid,
with salience at the bottom and resonance at the top. This suggests that the brand must have a clear
identity at its core if it is to be able to build up to an interconnected relationship with its consumers.

27

ma
mix
rketing

Supremes’ product offering has developed
through the brands expansion. Originally,
product offering was restricted to the
infamous box logo t-shirts and hoodies,
catering to the skateboarding demographic.
Today, Supreme has a wide product selection
– continuing to produce their classic t-shirts,
to collaborations on shoes and jackets, to
selling miscellaneous accessories such as
clay bricks and crowbars. According to Edited
(2020), 70% of Supreme’s product offering is
t-shirts, followed consecutively by outerwear
and accessories with a shared 12%. Supreme
only releases products during ‘drop seasons’
of the year, and releases new products
weekly (every Thursday) during this time.

produ

ct

28

The pricing strategy of Supreme allows the brand pri
to appear accessible to a wider market, allowing ce
their existing scarcity strategy to have a greater
impact to generate hype around the brand.
Compared to other luxury brands within the
market prices at Supreme are more affordable,
ranging from approximately £40 for a graphic
t-shirt to £200 for jackets and coats. Prices vary
largely depending on whether the product is in
collaboration with another brand, for example
coats within the North Face x Supreme collection
retailed at approximately £300. Supreme products
do not become discounted via the Supreme site, with
retailers such as Farfetch advertising fewer than 1%
of Supreme products as discounted (Edited, 2020).

Whilst Supreme’s pricing strategy positions the
brand on the more affordable spectrum of the
luxury market, the brands scarcity and drop
strategy has given way to a resell market in which
Supreme products can be sold for thousands times
the original price. For example, in 2020 Supreme
released a branded, 3-pack of Oreos for $8. The
product sold out immediately and within minutes
was being re-sold via second hand sites for up
to $92,000 (Scinto, 2020) - making the perceived
value of the brand increase dramatically – a strong
competitive advantage as this drives demand
for original products, leading to more sell outs.

29

pl ace

Supreme only has 11 stores internationally,
meaning access to physical brick and mortar stores
is restricted for a lot of their consumers – again,
this interlinks with their strategy on promoting the
brands exclusivity. The Supreme website is accessible
for all consumers, and they also sell at several
retailers such as Farfetch and Flannels. According
to a survey conducted by Hypebeast (2019), 52% of
streetwear consumers are most likely to purchase
an item through the physical brand store, with
41% of consumers citing the brand’s e-commerce.

30

31

promotio
n
When it comes to promotion, Supreme has a unique strategy which has proven widely
effective in securing brand awareness and loyalty. The brand uses a combination of above-
the-line and below-the-line marketing techniques. Firstly, the brand is active on social
media where the images most frequently posted are that of new product releases and
skaters wearing Supreme. Instagram is the brands most active platform, with nearly 14
million followers in 2020. The brand also has a mail-list which consumers can sign up to,
meaning they receive direct contact about new products within the drop season. Supreme
are notorious for their below-the-line marketing in urban areas. Visual posters are placed
in areas such as Soho in London, increasing brand awareness in a discreet manner.

Supreme regularly collaborates with celebrites such as Kate Moss, Lady Gaga and Morrisey
to promote its products. These campaigns, as with the majority of Supremes visual
marketing, are clean and minimalistic where the eye is drawn to the infamous Supreme logo.

Furthermore, Supreme’s scarcity strategy acts as a promotional tool in itself by
creating hype around the brand. Having small quantities of product to sell means
Supreme is consistently a sell-out brand, creating more demand for the product.
Having products released during a restricted period of time, at the same time weekly,
makes purchasing the product an event for consumers which eventually becomes
a habit – this is a method of marketing which means Supreme is able to maintain
customers at little to no cost for the brand. During the weekly product drops, traffic
to Supreme’s website is said to increase by up to 17,000% (McKinnon, 2019).

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SW
is
OT analys weaknesses

strengths Formal advertising is minimal, relies heavily on word
of mouth which may restrict the brands consumer
Strong degree of brand loyalty - sales are guaranteed. demographic
Strong brand identity which customers are able to
connect with Scarcity strategy is effective in encouraging sales but
Luxury brand perception despite its affordability may be restricting potential profits for the brand
within the market, unique brand position
Market leader
Endorsed and backed by high profile celebrities,
provides free marketing

opportunities threats

Streetwear market growing exponentially, becoming Risk of losing brand identity as the market becomes
more mainstream, increasing the number of consumers more commercialized

available for Supreme to target Competitors have adapted towards similar designs and
Growing demand for streetwear products from women have marketing strategies which target consumers more

directly

Figure 4: SWOT Analysis of Supreme,
Authors own (2020).

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cha pter t hree

the consumer

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The traditional streetwear consumer
has diversified as the market itself has
expanded in recent years, although images
of queues outside Supreme reinstate the
concept of the traditional streetwear
consumer being a young male who is
into skateboarding and rap music. As the
market has diversified, one commonality
that is seen across the spectrum of
consumers is their expansive knowledge of
the history behind the streetwear culture,
products and brands (Velasquez, 2019).

One report found that 70% of streetwear
consumers are on an income of $40,000 or
less, yet have significant spending power
for brands, spending between $100 -
$500 on a single garment and buying new
garments monthly (Hypebeast, 2019). For
these consumers, community within the
streetwear market is a significant factor
fuelling their engagement with brands –
due to the scarcity model used by many
streetwear brands, including Supreme,
consumers are forced to build bonds with
peers within the market, in order to gain
access to information on product drops
or to know reliable people with whom to
buy legitimate second-hand items from.

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dif fusion of In reference to the diffusion of
in n o innovation curve, the original
va tio n streetwear consumer may have
been classed as an ‘innovator’
innovators early early late laggards or an ‘early adopter’. This
adopters majority majority is due to the nature of the
original streetwear culture in
Figure 5: Diffusion Of Innovation of representing the views and
Supreme Consumer, Authors Own opinions of a small minority
within the New York boroughs,
meaning their tastes and
trends were conflicting of that
of mainstream consumers.
However, as streetwear
has become popular within
mainstream society, the
position of the consumer on
the diffusion of innovation
curve is likely to have shifted
more solidly towards the
‘early adopter’ or in fact
the ‘early majority’. These
consumers are still innovative
within the market and lead
opinion for the majority, they
visualise their own designs
and will demand brands
they support to be forward
thinking (Schirtzinger, 2018).

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targe The Gen-Z consumer has been widely categorised
er as those born between 1995 and 2015 (Kasasa,
t consum 2020). Social media is key to engaging with female
gen-z consumers, with one report discovering
39 that 45% of this market are online “almost
constantly” (Gadimova, 2020). Gen-Z consumers
are an incredibly important group for brands
to target, accounting for 40% of all consumer
shopping in 2020 (Netzer, 2019). For the purpose
of this study and marketing proposal, the focus
will be on female gen-z consumers aged 18 – 25.

Streetwear consumers within this demographic,
identified through a focus group, are largely
influenced through their style and behaviour through
digital influencers and musicians. The participants
noted that they were widely influenced by males,
with one participant noting that “streetwear is
unisex, their gender doesn’t matter, we all wear the
same thing”. The survey conducted concluded that
75% of gen-z consumers are comfortable wearing an
item of clothing intended for the gender they do not
identify with. The majority of participants credited
musicians such as Tyler The Creator, A$AP Rocky and
Kanye West with their interest within streetwear,
closely followed by social media influencers such
as Leo Mandella, as well as their male peers.
An increase in female streetwear influencers is
being seen, with participants giving credit to
Billie Eilish, notorious for her androgynous style.

Figure 6: Target Consumer Profile,
Authors Own (2020)

The 3 factors that influence
these consumers in making
their purchases, according to
the survey, are quality, price
and brand. 41% of consumers
stated that visual marketing
imagery would influence them
in making a purchase decision.

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Figure 7: he Search For The Truth Is At The Root Of All Generation Z’s behaviour (2018) by McKinsey

Throughout the focus groups conducted on behalf of this study, authenticity was raised
as a key are of importance for these consumers when it comes to their relationships
with brands. The PESTLE that was carried out (see appendices 1.0) identified the
importance of social causes, such as equal rights, to brands as consumers increasingly
expect brands to address such issues. Nevertheless, in order for brands to create a long
lasting relationship with their consumers, it is essential that the brands engagement
with the cause feels authentic – the consumer wants to see that the company cares
about making a difference, as opposed to jumping on a trend in order to make a profit.
According to the survey that was carried out for this report, 51% of consumers said they
would support a brand that engaged with social causes by making a purchase from
the company. Within the focus group, the participants stated that if a brand were to
target a social cause within a marketing campaign, they would be more likely to follow
the brand on social media which could, in the long run, lead to purchases being made.
Figure 7 identifies the most important factors for gen-z consumers when it comes to shopping
and supporting brands – individuality, inclusivity and realness. This supports the argument for
brands to create an authentic relationship with their consumers beyond a transactional one,
a feature already identified as having importance for the traditional streetwear consumer.

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exism in streets

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