Three hundred and fifty shoppers with tickets waited patiently outside Louis Vuitton's Ion Orchard boutique yesterday morning to get their hands on coveted items from the luxury brand's collaboration with Supreme, a New York-based streetwear label.
Doors were to have opened at 10.30am, but it was only 25 minutes after that that the first shopper was allowed in.
The delay was apparently due to a Louis Vuitton staff briefing.
But the wait was worth it, it seems.
Mr Francis Lim, who had the first ticket, spent a total of $8,000 on five items - a baseball shirt, a cap, two bags and a pair of shoes. He took just 10 minutes to shop.
Each shopper was given up to 20 minutes to shop and could buy only one item from each of the five categories: leather goods, small leather goods, ready-to-wear, accessories and shoes.
Ten people were allowed in at a time.
After leaving the store, Mr Lim was surrounded by interested shoppers without tickets, eagerly inundating him with questions on which items from the collaboration collection were available at the store.
These shoppers are allowed into the store, but only after all ticket-holders have had their pick.
Mr Lim, 45, a regular Louis Vuitton customer, said that the collaboration with Supreme gave "a fresh look for the brand's leather goods".
However, the creative director added that the items available here were limited.
He had browsed the collection online beforehand and had eyed a denim cap. Unfortunately, it was not available here.
The bachelor and hundreds of shoppers had formed a snaking queue outside Louis Vuitton's Ion Orchard outlet on Thursday morning to get a ballot number.
A ballot number which fell between one and 350 - indicating the order one can enter the store today - meant a ticket for first dibs on the collaboration collection.
Mr Lim clinched the first ticket, despite joining the queue at only 6.45am on Thursday. Others had starting queueing since 6pm on Wednesday without getting a ticket.
"I'm not sure what to say... it was just my luck, I guess," he says with a laugh.
Another shopper, Mr Andy Koh, 23, spent $5,300 on four items, including a T-shirt and a bag. He held ticket number three.
Says the national serviceman: "I didn't look at the price, I just grabbed the items."
Supreme, a brand that caters to the skateboarding and hip-hop cultures, also produces skateboards that are collected like pieces of modern art.
The brand is very popular, mainly due to its association with famous skateboarders such as Mark Gonzales and Sean Pablo.
It was estimated that it would take hours for the line to clear.
Ms Tung Hui Kee, a visual design student, who had ticket number 199, estimates that she will be in line for about three hours before being able to enter the store.
The 18-year-old plans on buying a sweatshirt or T-shirt and a small wallet for her older brother. She does not plan on getting anything for herself.
"I'm just helping my brother. If the items he wants are sold out and there's nothing else that he wants, then I won't buy anything," she says.
Items from the collaboration collection are already being hawked on the secondary market.
A check on online marketplace Carousell yesterday found a handful of items from the collaboration collection, including T-shirts, wallets and shoes, being sold for up to double the price.
