Drop

Drop dives into the world of streetwear queue culture, with original photos of product launches from across the globe, including events in New York, Los Angeles, London, Paris, Seoul, Hong Kong, Tokyo, and more, from brands including Supreme, A Bathing Ape, Patta, Yeezy, Anti Social Social Club, Vetements, Off-White, and others.

The world of the hypebeast has led to a virtual destruction of the traditional delineation between street and "high" fashion. Limited edition pieces enjoy global cult status, draw thousands of hopeful purchasers, and can resell for up to 10-20x retail immediately after release on sites like Grailed.

There is an entire culture surrounding these launches, or "drops." Streetwear aficionados travel intercontinentally to attend them, almost like concerts, and wear their rarest shoes and gear, flexing for each other while chatting, comparing, and hoping to cop one-time-only limited pieces. Kids rock grails and geek out, like an OG subreddit come to life. These lines comprise some of the most interesting fashion events in the world, and are fast becoming streetwear's equivalent of the fashion shows that haute ateliers host each year at fashion weeks in Paris, New York, Milan, and beyond.

Byron Hawes is a writer, designer, and curator who splits time between NYC, LA, and Shanghai. He is the founder and editor of the underground design magazine The Après Garde, and co-founder of I-V, a boutique architecture and design firm that has done projects including a recording studio and offices for OVO Sound, Campari's Canadian HQ, and Spin. He is the senior editor at Flofferz, and a contributing editor at both Fucking Young and SidewalkHustle. He has served as a contributing editor for both Hypebeast and HighSnobiety and as a consulting editor at Architectural Digest China, as well as contributing to publications including Vice, Wallpaper, Monocle, and more. Additionally, he has authored the books Drop, Art on Deck, Façades, and others.