INTRODUCTION
Nowadays there has been a controversial issue about the hypebeasts' craze.
Who are they? Why are they called 'hypebeast' and
what kind of problem do they create?
A hypebeast is slang for someone who is obsessed with the hype (in fashion) and will do whatever
it takes to obtain that desired hype. The term is meant to be derogatory by ridiculing these people
with a lack of style. Hyped up brands sell their products at a price higher than the average clothing
company and can be seen reselling on the internet for a price much greater than retail due to the
fact that it is either exclusive or somewhat limited.
Many brands especially Supreme are related to streetwear. Hypebeasts buy their clothes for the
logo and brand-name and completely ignore the fact of whether they personally like the item or not.
In general terms they buy whatever the brand puts out, dressing to impress others by what brandname
he/she is wearing.
PROBLEM
The situation with the hypebeast culture is more complex than it might seem. On one
side, they create a problem with the whole of the streetwear fashion industry with companies
relying more on the designs than the quality of the garments. With the prices that these companies
are charging more stuff should be cut/sewn, especially with higher-end goods such as hoodies/
sweaters.
On the other side is the consumerist behaviour of hypebeasts. Most of them are young people
between the ages of 15-25, who are obsessed with street fashion and culture, into the latest news
about the new hyped brands and often go to drops to get their hands on exclusive stuff. The drops,
especially by Supreme, can be all day long. For instance, I personally went to one of these
Supreme's drops in London and stayed for 8 hours in a long queue to purchase and resell one
sweatshirt. People, who I met during the drop, were young students, who wanted to get the hoodie
due to their love of the Supreme brand and their street fashion interest. It was not their first drop,
so these guys were ready to stay and wait 8 hours as 'Supreme has launched an exclusive and
cool hoodie with its original-styled logo as it was 15 years ago, when the brand started to work'.
All
of the hypebeasts were dressed in Supreme and other popular street fashion brands and clothes.
On the drops, it is a common thing to see young people behave aggressively and nervous as well
as start conflict with each other, so there are generally lots of security around. In front of me, a
queue with 150 people was dropped because two young hypebeasts started to fight, so the
security boss decided to show everyone in two other queues that 'any conflicts on the drops is a
bad idea'. I saw how 150 young boys started to cry as they lost their chance to get the sweatshirt,
which they were waiting for. This caused a mass hysteria, which I will never forget.
Moreover, there is a legend in the hypebeast's society about a man who was killed on one of the
biggest Supreme's drops in 2012 in New York. People say that after the drop the young man
walked home and was stabbed because the killer wanted to get the bought Supreme's stuff and
resell it.
Honestly, after my personal experience during the Supreme's drop, this story of the killed Supreme
man does not look like something unreal or impossible in our current society. People become
crazier because of clothes and brands and start to act more inappropriately. Literally, the word
'hypebeast' hints towards a group of monsters, rather than people, who are into street fashion. For
a person, who is not obsessed with street culture, this form of consumerism looks more dangerous
and insane. But the biggest danger I see is in those streetwear brands which support these hype
waves and launch these drops every time. They know and understand that hypebeasts would do
literally everything in order to get what they want and they (brands and companies) support it.
IDEA
Creating the Supreme cigarettes packages, I compare the consumerism behaviour of
hypebeasts with a habit of smoking. When the cigarettes negatively affect on a physical health, the
hypebeast consumerism destroys slowly a mental one. Both lifestyles can easily kill their owners.
Thank you for attention.
Model: Yousef Adnan
Project: Alena Kroshechkina.
