While shops like Supreme have stores in New York, London, Paris, and all over Japan, their fanbase undeniably stretches beyond those cities. The Internet has made it (a little) easier to get your hands on rare gear, but the online community united by a shared passion for labels like Supreme have been galvanized by social media like forums and Facebook groups.

One of the most popular places to find out about upcoming Supreme drops and witness the conversation surrounding the brand is on Reddit's r/supremeclothing subreddit. Toronto citizen Eugene Lardy has been involved in the community for some time, and is one of its moderators. He also hosts a weekly Twitch show, Supreme Night Live, which airs every Thursday at 8 p.m. Eastern Time.

Lardy says that the subreddit has grown to over 61,000 subscribers. And as the brand (and the community) continues to grow, they've now had to implement an approval process. On this edition of the Highsnobiety: Conversations podcast, we discuss what that process looks like, and how these communities also actively police against fake streetwear that's been flooding the market.

Even less than two weeks ago, NBA player Dwyane Wade was spotted stepping out in obvious fake Supreme from notorious Italian bootleg label Supreme Italia, and with the recent launch of Supreme's Louis Vuitton collaboration, more questionable product is sure to find its way onto peer-to-peer resale platforms.

We also discuss how neophytes to forum culture can get the most out of the community, and become valuable contributors themselves, as well as the lengths r/supremeclothing is going to in order to control product leaks, and ensure that the buy/sell process can help prevent both sides of the transaction from getting scammed.

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