Anticipation for the new Supreme x Nike collaboration reached Walmart on Black Friday levels of madness, with the NYPD forcing Supreme to shut down their New York launch over concerns for public safety.
Diehard sneakerheads and resellers looking to get their hands on the Supreme x Nike Air Foamposite 1 trainers started camping outside the Supreme store in SoHo yesterday afternoon. Eventually, the crowds grew so huge that they wound up spilling out over the barricades, onto the pavement and into the busy street.
One sneakerhead on Instagram described the atmosphere as "hostile", telling others to "STAY AWAY IF YOU DON'T WANT PROBLEMS". Some even reported seeing police in riot gear and police helicopters hovering above the frenzy.
You can get a sense of the chaos in this video:
Supreme explained that the NYPD had "forced" them to shut down the launch over public safety concerns, posting a makeshift sign in their store window and releasing an official statement on Instagram to assure people that the trainers would be available online anyway.
Just for comparison's sake, let's take a look at yesterday's queue in London:
So British. Where's your foldable cupholder seat now, New York?
