As Swatch, Pop Mart and Nike have all faced violent scenes during product launches, the question remains: are these incidents a feature, not a bug?
The strategy is clear. Fewer items than demand, heightened FOMO, and social media hype create chaos. Brands like Swatch's Royal Pop collection, priced at £335, have seen stores overwhelmed by crowds primed for weeks.
However, the response from brands is uniform. More stock is coming, fairer systems are in development. Yet, when a man gets arrested outside a Manhattan store because of the rush, one wonders how far the ethical considerations go.
The launch of the Audemars Piguet x Swatch Royal Pop collection on 16 May resulted in stores across the UK and Europe closing due to overwhelming demand. Burberry's x Supreme drop at Dover Street Market ended in a full-scale brawl that shut down the event.
Designers aim for making the world better through their work, but when launches are meticulously planned to create scarcity, the result is often chaos and violence. The ethical implications of such strategies must be considered alongside the creative ones.
