Timothee Chalamet arrives at the pop up for his upcoming film 'Marty Supreme', which saw fans clamouring to get fashion merch. Photo: The New York Times
At just past seven one Thursday evening, shrieks and flashbulbs filled Grand Street in Manhattan, as Timothee Chalamet, dressed in a pink hoodie and as yet unreleased Dior sneakers, led a team of pingpong-ball-helmeted accomplices into the pop up for his upcoming film Marty Supreme.
The film, directed by Josh Safdie, tells the story of Marty Mauser, a fictional manic pingpong champion from the 1950s who turns whatever he touches into sheer chaos.
About a minute later, the 29-year-old Chalamet disappeared into the storefront.
The cries for his attention abated. Timmymania was on pause.
But the line to buy “Marty” merch snaked back for over two blocks, slowly funneling the throng to purchase US$250 (approximately RM1,033) windbreakers and US$95 (RM393) sweatpants bearing the title of a film that most, if not all of them, will not see until it is released Christmas Day.
“I was just excited to get something that’s super exclusive,” said Colin Van Hoek, 20, of Yonkers, New York, who arrived in line at about 1.30pm.
Nearly four hours later he had a new “Marty Supreme” jacket on his back and his oh-so patient girlfriend, Ava, was the proud owner of a US$18 (RM74) key chain depicting a silhouette of Chalamet’s character sprinting during a pivotal scene.
“I’ve been following this jacket for a while,” said Van Hoek.
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It was hard not to online. Celebrities and athletes, like Kid Cudi, Misty Copeland and Chalamet, have posted themselves wearing Marty Supreme windbreakers.
Fans, eager to take part, began buying dupes online.
“The only people who had it until today were like Tom Brady and the Kardashians,” said Van Hoek, referring to the genuine Marty-article.
“This is something to help amplify and allow people to really know the movie’s coming,” said Doni Nahmias, who designed the collection alongside Chalamet.
Many films, especially those released by A24, might have a singular tee or a dad cap as a tie-in, but this was a full-fledged clothing collection, something closer to what the rapper then known as Kanye West did with his Saint Pablo tour than what is normally seen from the film industry.
The 24-piece collection includes logoed US$80 (RM331) polos and US$30 (RM124) socks.
These pop-ups will continue in other, yet-to-be-announced cities leading up to the film’s official release.
Nahmias, who runs Nahmias, a Los Angeles clothing label, said the clothes were initially conceived (with an assist from the actor’s stylist, Taylor McNeill) just for Chalamet to wear in promoting the film.
But, as the assortment grew, A24, the studio releasing Marty Supreme, became involved and decided to release the clothes publicly.
The vibe for the event was predictably chaotic, with mannequins featuring pingpong ball heads and televisions showing highlights of other sporting greats. Photo: The New York Times
Nahmias, a basketball fan, was particularly proud of the “running man” symbol, which also appears on hats and zipper pulls.
“It’s Timmy’s Jumpman,” he said, alluding to Michael Jordan’s unmistakable watermark.
The store in New York was open for just four hours. Racks were stark and metal barricades kept the lines orderly.
The Marty Supreme marketing team has leaned into the film’s theme of athletic excellence.
Dotted around the pop-up were televisions playing clips of other greats – a supercut of Wayne Gretzky breaking a hockey record, gymnast Simone Biles winning gold, and the New York Yankees taking the World Series.
The focal point was a pumpkin-orange box truck filled with matching pingpong balls (the pumpkin colour as the Marty Supreme answer to Barbie pink).
All evening long, fans stopped in front of it to take victorious selfies with their purchases.
“We were like any size, any colour,” said Taylor Wadsworth, 26, standing outside the pop-up with a heaving bag of merch at her feet.
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She and her friend Ella Ford, 25, had both cut out from work around two, and had scored matching Marty Supreme jackets.
The orange wasn’t to Ford's tastes, but she got the red. She too was already wearing it.
This blink-and-it’s-gone shop was another experiment in how to whip up excitement for a film at a moment when films feel anything but that.
Studios can no longer just release a film, they have to event-ise it.
Some chose singalong showings and custom popcorn boxes to stoke buzz.
The forces behind Marty Supreme went with gonzo social media videos (this week Chalamet posted a mock brainstorming session for the film’s advertising: one imagined idea was to paint the Statue of Liberty pingpong-ball orange) and a streetwear pop-up.
If this pop-up was a test of whether the film industry should go headlong into these music-tour-style merch events, a simple fact works against them – not every film can star Chalamet. – ©2025 The New York Times Company
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
