ILLUSTRATOR: ELENA XAUSA WRITER: LOU STOPPARDHaving spent millions on extensive research into
the shopping opportunities afforded by tech – from
shoppable Instagram accounts to virtual fitting rooms –
fashion brands are now trying to imitate a much more
lo-fi model. Credited as the brainchild of New York
skate brand Supreme, it is known as the ‘drop’.
Supreme’s drop arrives on Thursdays. The brand
sends a short email out to its fans and followers to
inform them that new product is in its stores and
on its e-shop. Queues form quickly outside its stores
and, once it hits send, traffic to its website increases
by more than 15,000 per cent. Unlike most retailers’
newsletters, which feature carefully shot editorial
imagery and ‘inspiring’ copy, the email isn’t artfully
designed, but plain and curt. In fact, it looks like
one of those spam emails that try to entice you into
clicking a dodgy link. The whole set-up is, despite
the reliance on email, decidedly anti-technology.
High fashion’s model has traditionally been
seasonal rather than weekly, the spectacle of fashion
week revolving around two big shows – autumn/winter
and spring/summer. But the last five years have seen a
breakdown of this system as CEOs and strategists have
realised that a six-month lag between products being
shown and available to buy is out of step with today’s
digital-driven desire for instant gratification. Now
we have much-hyped cruise shows, see-now-buy-now
collections and grouped product offerings that hit
stores gradually, rather than in one go. But the crux
of the Supreme model remains elusive.
The success of the drop isn’t so much about
timing, but rather the cleverly constructed lure of
exclusivity. Supreme, unlike most high-fashion brands,
expects shoppers to make an effort – to embrace the
ignominy of standing in line. You won’t find it seeding
clothing with Instagram influencers, or coming up
with gimmicky hashtags to mark a new capsule – that
would be begging for attention. Instead, Supreme
keeps its product-run low. Once it’s gone, it’s gone. The
suggestion of a potential ‘sell-out’ revs up customers –
they feel like they have accessed something that slower
moving (or simply much busier) fans were unable to get
their hands on. They are part of an exclusive club. This
relies on making the products as difficult as possible to
buy – it’s a treat-them-mean, keep-them-keen strategy.
When Nike launched its much-hyped collaboration
with Off-White’s Virgil Abloh, trainer fans had to go
through an elaborate process to get a pair. Rumours
were rife about when product would drop, then a raffle
was set up to offer the chance to buy. If you were luckyenough to get a ticket – many of which were trading
online for huge sums – you could then attend a set
store at a fixed time slot to buy.
The influence of the drop model can be felt over
at MatchesFashion.com, the e-retailer that recently
sold for $1bn. ‘We often find that a desirable product,
such as Balenciaga’s ‘Triple S’ sneaker, can sell out in
minutes,’ says the brand’s head of menswear Damien
Paul. ‘A decade ago, the only cult items seemed to be
women’s handbags, but male shoppers are becoming
savvier. From my point of view, this can only be a good
thing as it means people revisit MatchesFashion.com
numerous times weekly, even daily.’ The company
uploads new womenswear products every weekday,
while new menswear products drop every Monday,
Wednesday and Friday. The uploads generally happen
around 8am GMT and are hyped by a series of emails.
For small brands looking to the future in these
uncertain times, the model of releasing contained sets
of stock at regular intervals can provide a degree of
control that is appealing. The fear of being left with
an enormous bulk of the unloved is reduced – a real
threat for the number of small labels increasingly
forced by retailers to agree to sale or return terms.
In the past, one bad season, disliked by the buyers
who lap showrooms like kingmakers, could cripple
a young brand. The drop model comes with the added
benefit of creating hype as you grow. The long-term
success of small runs was clearly shown in January,
when Supreme collector Ross Wilson began selling over
1,000 pieces from his extensive collection online via
The Idle Man. The sale gave shoppers a chance to get
their hands on something they’d been unable to track
down the first time if they hadn’t been in the right
place at the right time – a simple white T-shirt from
a 2006 drop was listed for £900 while a parka from the
brand’s North Face collaboration was going for £2,250.
The drop model shows an understanding of younger
consumers’ interest in occasions and live events over
pure product. These queues, or store rushes, are social
experiences, where like-minded enthusiasts come to
compete, share and feel part of a community. It’s telling
that when Louis Vuitton launched its much-discussed
collaboration with Supreme – arguably the apex
of fashion’s current obsession with all things limited
edition – it did so through specially built pop-ups
rather than its own stores. Purchasing was part of an
experience that involved finding the location, queuing
among thousands for hours, and finally getting in.
The product is just the reward for the challenge. ∂Waiting
game
Why the ‘drop’ has us queuing
in the age of convenience064 ∑
Intelligence