Supreme Opens First Retailer In Seoul – WWD
Supreme, the New York-based cult streetwear label, has arrived in Seoul to a lot fanfare.
Days earlier than the official retailer launch on Saturday, diehard followers camped outdoors the Sinsa-Dong retailer as a way to win a slot to buy Supreme’s Seoul-exclusive field emblem T-shirt, together with the primary drop from the autumn 2023 assortment.
The model’s Seoul flagship is the primary outpost in Asia outdoors of Japan and the VF Corp.-owned streetwear label’s sixteenth retailer worldwide.
Positioned within the upscale Gangnam space, the store is subsequent to the charming Dosan park and neighbors a Louis Vuitton pop-up and Mild Monster’s Haus Dosan flagship.
Considered from the road, a skater-friendly sloped entryway, a modern black facade, and floor-to-ceiling glass home windows give the shop an artwork gallery-like sensibility.
The Seoul retailer was designed by Supreme’s longtime collaborator, London-based design studio Brinkworth.
Inside the two,273-square-foot retailer, consumers encounter an enormous mural that includes elf-like characters painted by Rita Ackermann, a fixture within the downtown New York scene who additionally created art work for Supreme’s Chicago retailer.
Works by Rita Ackermann at Supreme’s Seoul retailer.
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On the opposite facet of the wall is a monumental collage by Weirdo Dave that encompasses a parade of popular culture references, from Lisa of Blackpink to viral cat memes. Additionally on the partitions and the pristine ground are Nate Lowman bullet gap work, which assist add a contact of pop to the ethereal retailer.
The store’s most fascinating design ingredient is the 2 audio system chained to the ceiling, custom-made by Brooklyn, New York-based speaker artist Devon Turnbull.
A blown-up model of a Supreme cash stack bench on the middle of the shop is the place guests can linger and congregate. The one piece of design not created by a notable artist, the bench is a blown-up model of a Supreme paperweight accent from its fall 2017 assortment.
Works by Weirdo Dave, Devon Turnbull and Nate Lowman at Supreme’s first Seoul retailer.
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The highest two flooring of the stand-alone Dosan constructing, off limits to common prospects, home the model’s native workplace.
To inaugurate the cult skate store’s first retailer in South Korea, Supreme launched a brief movie documenting its skate workforce enjoying methods and roaming about downtown Seoul.
Titled “Piggy” and shot by Supreme filmmaker William Strobeck, the black-and-white video premiered throughout an unique launch social gathering forward of the shop opening. But to be launched on-line, clips of the video may be seen on the Seoul retailer.
The Seoul retailer’s debut comes after a 12 months after the heritage streetwear model entered the China market by way of a store-in-store at Dover Avenue Market Beijing, its solely wholesales companion.
Martino Scabbia Guerrini, govt vice chairman and president of EMEA, APAC and rising manufacturers at VF Corp., just lately advised WWD that Supreme has the potential to double its attain by increasing its retail footprint in Asia and Europe within the mid-term.
“Nonetheless, this ought to be performed with self-discipline as a result of Supreme is a superb mannequin however you must maintain innovating the merchandise, aesthetics and communication. You’d relatively keep away from oversaturation, the shortage mannequin…is the software to stay unique,” Scabbia Guerrini mentioned.
