We Asked People at the Supreme x Louis Vuitton Drop How They Afford it

Earlier this year, Supreme and Louis Vuitton announced they would be collaborating on a collection. This came as something of a shock to many people interested in very expensive bits of fabric; not long ago, the New York skate brand riffed on the iconic LV monogram print for a series of T-shirts and decks and were quickly served a cease and desist. But time – and the fact Supreme is now arguably the most influential brand in menswear – clearly heals all wounds.

This morning, the collection dropped at pop-up stores around the world, and with the announcement of where these shops would be came a price-list for the stuff on sale. Teenage Supreme fans are known for their entrepreneurship, and often have a shit-ton of money to spend on new gear, but the €3,500 for a leather Louis x Supreme baseball jacket and €50,000 for the collaborative trunk seemed a stretch too far even for them.

So we went to the London pop-up on The Strand this morning for a chat about all that.

VICE: Where are you guys from?
Dad: We're from the States.

Did you fly out just for this?
Zac, 18: Not just for this! We were on vacation and decided to give this a try, but we're about to bail on it. We've been here since about 5:30AM.

You've got to stick it out now surely?
Dad: So the line is like 20 minutes minimum per move, and if they let five people in and there's 300 people ahead of us, that's about another six or seven hour wait.

You've really gone in on working that out.
Dad: Yeah, it's all about math. And the rest of the family are waiting for us to join them for vacation, so…

That sounds infinitely more appealing.
Dad: You know, Zac wanted to try it. I'm not gonna let him be on the street that early in the morning alone, so I came with him to support.

So how much dough have you got to blow?
Dad: I've given him enough.
Zac: I've got like £2,000 of my own money. I have a small social media business – I do websites, digital marketing, the whole deal.

I'll put a link to the business in the article if you get me a T-shirt.
Zac: That's about a $500 link, dude.

Is that a no?
Zac: Yeah.

How long have you been queueing up for Ali?
Ali, 21: About an hour now. The queue is huge, but it was supposed to be way worse – but, like, it's really fair enough. I guess it's because of the price list. Most people are coming for the box logo, the T-shirt, because it's one of the cheapest items they're offering right now. How much does that cost?
£400, almost. That's the cheapest one?
I'm not joking, that's the cheapest one.

Some poor guy up there only brought £250.
Ah no, that sucks. Hopefully his friend will buy him something. But yeah, the prices go up to like £60,000 for like a skateboard trunk.

So have you bought 60 big ones with you for it?
I'm not getting the truck because that's stupid. I'm just going to get the box logo or the baseball jersey – that's it – which is like £700. I'm not paying any more than that.

How much money have you got with you?
Mason, 18: That's for me to know and you to find out Okay. Where'd you get your dough?
I do a bit of reselling here and there. Fair play. Where did you come from?
I've just left sixth form in Hertfordshire. I've come all the way down just for the day. That's commitment.

Have you been here all night?
Mato, 24: Yeah. My friend is in the queue – I just said, "Take something for me when you get in." Do you know how much cash she brought with her?
I don't know, but these hoodies are reselling for like £2,000. That's crazy. Can I feel it?
Yeah, I don't think the quality is good. It's pretty Fruit of the Loom.
Yeah, it's bad. It's so bad compared to Supreme itself. I can't imagine this piece is selling for £2,000 – it's ridiculous. How much did you pay for it?
I'm buying this at retail price, so like £550 or something, so the retail price is high enough. How did you get the money to pay for this?
Well, I'm working at the moment, for an American financial company. Sounds like you've earned it.
Exactly. I have; I work hard.

@PatrickBenjam / @Jake_Photo