Justin Bieber turning up at a Justin Bieber pop up shop incites nothing short of the apocalyptic pandemonium.
When Biebs rolled up to a two day event in Manhattan for limited-editon Purpose merchandise, fans who had been waiting in line for at least two hours in the rain gave up their spot in seconds, jumping over barriers to run to the screams.
Never mind the fact that most of them didn’t even have any visual confirmation that Bieber was, in fact, even present. They trusted the battle cry of their fellow Beliebers, and their instincts turned out to be right.
#12mercer pic.twitter.com/DDdem2jh6U
— francisca magis (@franciscamagis) May 4, 2016
The event, put on by V-Files, features exclusive Bieber merch designed by Jerry Lorenzo for his two-day stint at the Barclay’s Center in Brooklyn. Lorenzo is also the guy who did Kanye West’s Yeezus merchandise that also drew inspiration from heavy metal aesthetics and Bieber’s semi-controversial Nirvana tee.
A fair number of pop up shop attendees weren’t there for Bieber at all, but excited to get their hands on Lorenzo’s work. His clothing line, Fear of God, mixes original pieces with customized vintage band tee shirts.
“I fuck with Bieber after ‘Sorry,’ but I’m not here because of him,” one attendee says. Others were devastated to find out that the yellow hoodie emblazoned with the word security was the first item to sell out.
“You can still get a shirt with Justin Bieber praying on it,” one security guard said, trying to comfort a fashion fan — with air quotes around the word praying.
When Lorenzo headed out, passing by the line, his devotees tried their best to capture the moment on Snapchat. Those who couldn’t got creative: “Can I take a video of your video?”
But genuine Beliebers were still the vast majority. The same security guard told Mashable that around 40 people had camped out in the rain overnight waiting for the shop to open at noon.
#purposetourbrooklyn in soho @vfiles
A video posted by jerrylorenzo (@jerrylorenzo) on
Veronica, 15, waited for about two hours to get into the shop with her mom. She has been a Belieber since she was 10, but will be seeing him for the first time on his Purpose tour.
“Even though he gets a lot of hate, he still does what he wants. He doesn’t really care what people think about him,” Veronica told Mashable, when asked what’s special about him. “Don’t hate on him; he’s just a stupid teenager, too.”
Bieber’s 22 now, but point made.
When fans finally made it to the front of the line, they were able to file into the shop five at a time with a poorly-enforced five-minute time limit and instructions that they could purchase four items, but only one of each.
The merchandise included hats, t-shirts, jackets, sweatshirts and $100 Purpose sweatpants. One tee featured lyrics from Bieber’s harsh kiss off, “Love Yourself.” Bieber threw one over the shirt he was already wearing.
A group of Beliebers exiting the shop sang “Sorry” with their arms full of swag to pronounce their loyalty to the world — his fans aren’t going anywhere, no matter how much it rains.
