On November 20, cult film studio A24 hosted a pop-up in New York City for upcoming film Marty Supreme, stacked with movie merchandise designed by the film s star, Timothée Chalamet and LA-based brand Nahmias. Serpentine queues spanned two blocks, with hundreds of fans lining-up to get their ice-cold hands on red-hot merch, ranging from A24-emblazoned soccer jerseys to scene-stealing keychains. And, of course, that viral spellout windbreaker, spotted on everyone from Kylie Jenner to Kid Cudi, which has become one of the most-coveted (non-Labubu-shaped) It-items of the year.
The jacket has made Marty Supreme, which follows Timothée Chalamet as a ping pong maestro, a smash hit straight off the bat –– even before its release on December 26. It’s yet another case of A24 getting blockbuster press for its indie flicks via guerrilla marketing and savvy merchandising. And it underscores how A24 has transcended far beyond a film studio. “Because it’s established such a distinct point of view, it has the license to show up anywhere that aligns with that, transcending the role of a traditional studio,” says Sara McAlpine, journalist, creative strategist and founder of SMC Studio.
Since launching as an indie distributor in 2012, A24 has become shorthand for niche taste, thanks to a run of hyped movies spanning arty horrors (Midsommar, The Killing of a Sacred Deer), dopaminergic thrillers (Uncut Gems), coming-of-age dramas (Moonlight, Aftersun) and major Oscar winners (Everything Everywhere All At Once, The Whale). So much so that “A24” is now a colloquial adjective. “This is one of the most powerful indicators that you have transcended your category and become a clear point of cultural influence,” says Parisa Parmar, senior creative strategist at London-based entertainment marketing agency Attachment. (A24 declined to comment for this story.)
Last year, System magazine wrote that A24 “adopted fashion’s love of branding to transform itself from a film distributor into a social media-savvy cultural phenomenon”. Now, in light of the Marty jacket, it’s time for the reverse: for fashion brands to take notes from A24, drawing on its illustrious reputation.
A24 merchandise has been a key component to its success, acting as a buffer against its (relatively) strapped marketing budgets, compared with those of major studios. Since 2017, it’s collaborated with fashion brands including Online Ceramics and Brain Dead on capsules using poster art (and the A24 logo) as the basis, with many reaching coveted status among cinephiles and hypebeasts alike (resale apps remain stacked with thousands of graphic tees, some commanding a fivefold appreciation on their original $65-or-so price).
Ironically, A24’s drop approach has often been compared to streetwear label Supreme in terms of its esoteric product offerings. Take, for example, its latex gloves with hot dog fingers for Everything Everywhere All At Once, a gingerbread treehouse kit for Hereditary, or a beard grooming set for The Lighthouse.
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But this strangeness is always a stylish statement, unlike, say, Supreme’s infamous brick. “A24 chooses objects and ideas that are too strange or too narrow for a normal marketing department, and turns them into talismans,” says Martin Mangez-Casey, previously global director of digital communications at Louis Vuitton and an admirer of A24’s approach. “A24 dances to the off-rhythm beat of its own drum and it’s been consistent since it first gained popularity,” echoes Luz Corona, editor of Campaign US.
Cultivating an aura
These objects, though, are less important than A24’s objective: cultivating an aura. The Marty jacket, which is by all accounts a plain windbreaker in several bright colorways, is a perfect crystallization of what the brand does well — focusing on desire rather than design, Mangez-Casey says. “A24 sells belonging. It has turned its logo into a club for people who feel culturally in-between. This is desire at the identity level, not at the product level.”
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Without this sense of identity, the logo doesn’t leave any sort of meaningful impression. “When someone wears an A24 x Online Ceramics Hereditary tee or the Marty Supreme jacket, they’re signaling their taste level and their membership to a specific cultural community, participating in a bigger conversation. For fashion, the lesson is that you can’t manufacture that with a logo slap. You have to build a culture first,” McAlpine says.
The fact that its merchandise is often ‘as-seen-in’, appearing in some form in the movies, lends a new significance. This is something A24 does expertly; for Priscilla, for example, it collaborated with LA-based jewelry designer J. Hannah to reproduce the titular character’s iconic heart pendant. “It feels personal rather than promotional, and that’s what A24 does so well. It feels like it’s been pulled through the world of the film, with all of the texture of that universe still attached,” says J. Hannah founder Jess Hannah Révész.
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Fashion, increasingly entering the world of cinema, should be cribbing from A24’s script. “The opportunity is to make objects that are deeply anchored in the brand’s fictional or symbolic universe — things that feel like props from a story the brand is telling,” Mangez-Casey says.
“A24 understands the power of narrative gravity. Fashion can do the same by treating garments not as items, but as artefacts, pieces with lore, context, inspiration and emotional weight,” adds Parmar.
Lessons in world-building
A24’s own universe (or, perhaps, multiverse) goes far beyond its objects. “Product alone isn’t enough without a point of view. A24 is a solid blueprint because it’s built a singular identity — a consistent attitude and approach, with a set of values and behaviors — that exists independently of any film or show it releases,” McAlpine says. “Fashion could move away from seasonal amnesia and toward a living, consistent, evolving world, where shows, collabs, product launches, exhibitions and pop-ups are chapters of the same myth, not disconnected moments,” suggests Mangez-Casey.
This interconnected ecosystem translates to the consumer journey, too — fans can enter into A24’s world through myriad pop cultural portals and cinematic wormholes. “Accept that the funnel has collapsed and start building ecosystems instead: for A24, discovery, fandom, purchase and community all happen in the same space,” says Mangez-Casey.
A24’s firing-on-all-cylinders approach is still calibrated with a very clear aim; its marketing never loses focus. “There’s a clarity of mood and a specificity of atmosphere that feels confident [...] and it’s not afraid of something feeling niche or particular. That sense of trust in the material and in the audience is something fashion could certainly embrace more often,” says Révész.
Sometimes, as with A24’s merchandise, this strays into the sublime and the surreal; take the viral “leaked” Zoom marketing meeting for Marty Supreme, for example. “It was a hilariously meta way where fans can see how the sausage gets made,” says marketing expert Trey Taylor. “More than anything, I think fashion could learn to take itself a bit less seriously.” Fashion, of course, has readily embraced stunts in recent years — from Burberry’s knight to Telfar’s counterfeit store — but these moments of unseriousness are still fleeting at major design houses. “The takeaway is: don’t dial down the idiosyncrasies, double down on them,” McAlpine adds.
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The challenge for A24 is to maintain this niche zaniness as it continues to expand its universe. “A24 does a brilliant job of creating an acute sense of FOMO,” says Taylor. But the current is dragging it further into the mainstream. Now valued at $3.5 billion after a recent investment round, A24 risks veering into sell-out status for those who admire its indie credentials, losing enigmatic obscurity. It’s why Highsnobiety was notably critical of the Marty jacket rollout, suggesting that it turned into an “overhyped, overly manufactured merch moment”.
For now, though, its investment in cultural currency remains lucrative. “[A24 has an] intuition on the stories that will resonate with film enthusiasts over what will be the next blockbuster hit. And that’s what translates in its marketing approach,” says Mangez-Casey. Charli XCX lead mockumentary The Moment, slated for release in January 2026, is aptly titled for this reason: it’s an ensemble cast of It-girls that couldn’t feel more of-the-moment. Yet, it will undoubtedly remain A24-coded. Expect, once again, a Marty Supreme level of hype — and fashion trying to get a slice of the action.
Correction: This story was updated to reflect that the Marty Supreme merchandise was co-designed by both Timothée Chalamet and Nahmias. A previous version of this story only mentioned Nahmias. (12/07/2025)
