Back in the day, even more interesting than hearing about the last feature that the upcoming iPhone would tout was to discuss just how long the line for it went around a few blocks, with crazy stories of zany people who had camped out in the cold for days just to be among the first few to get their mitts on one just as it was launched. Then, a lot of the drama moved online. As brands started organising flash sales through websites or other online retail points, people would wait with baited breath all around the globe, and records would be made as to just how fast the few gazillion units got picked up in barely a few microseconds, or, fairly often, just how quickly a website crashed, unable to deal with the rush. The iPhone line is not a thing anymore, and even those online sales are far from anything so riotous. That said, there are still products that capture the world’s collective imagination, articles of desire that get our aesthetic goat so bad that we just have to have them, never mind the irrationality involved in the acquisition, both financial and emotional. Here are a few products that have recently been more coveted than Zeus’s lightning staff.

Casio G-Shock GMW B5000

Casio G-Shock GMW B5000

 The G-Shock series has always enjoyed a cult following, but recently, when they unveiled their classic DW-5000C 1983 original in an all-metal, shiny chrome finished shock-resistant body (at Baselworld, no less), the world sat up and took notice. Then, as if only to flaunt it further, they did it in a gold-finish. A solar-powered, Bluetooth enabled digital watch that has people lining up to get one for their wrists: these two watches have risen to become the bridge between the youthful and the old, the classic and the contemporary.

Nike Air Jordan X Levi’s

Nike Air Jordan X Levi’s

Air Jordan, as sneakers go, is the Holy Grail for most collectors. In fact, even if you are not a massive fan of this shoe form, chances are you won’t think of Air Jordans as un-pretty. And while they seem to do a new tie-up release every few months (weeks?), their association with Levi’s spawned a shoe that upped the quotient both in the sneaker and the denim world. It was the Air Jordan silhouette re-imagined in Levi’s classic rugged denim fabric, right down to the front of the shoe, which had the Levi’s back-label stitched on to the tongue. Prices remain high on the resale market, and talks are on about which other options in the series would be dropping soon. Does acid wash AJs anyone?

Gucci GucciGhost Collaboration

Gucci x GucciGhost

This was a brave move on the part of this Italian design and luxury giant, to delve into the world of street art and draw inspirations from everyday graffiti to incorporate into their look. The collaboration that was the brainchild of Canadian Olympic snowboarder Trevor Andrew and Gucci Creative Director Alessandro Michele worked, and two years later, the products that came out of the collaborations are among the rarest of accessories to be found on the market, although the irony hangs heavy that with their very obvious and stark designs, they are the easiest to spot even at a distance.

Supreme

Rimowa X Supreme

 It was about to cite the LV X Supreme collaboration duffel, but then there were also the Nike X Supreme Air More Uptempo (Suptempo) sneakers, and let’s not forget the latest Rimowa X Supreme trolleys, which created a class divide even among the First Class denizens. In short, this is the Midas touch of the 21st century: anything that gets branded with this skateboarding brand’s ‘white Futura logotype on red background’ motif seems to grow exponentially in covetvalue. But the Supreme LV collar remains the stuff of legends, having spawned an entire range of products, from clothes to shoes and luggage, and having acquired the accolade of being the most expensive LV product to sell on the resale market, ever.

adidas Originals

adidas Originals X Pharell

adidas Originals Yeezy boost

These guys have done it not just once but twice – once with Kanye West when they launched the Yeezy, and then with Pharell, who revisited classic brand styles with his versions of colour, materials and quirky messages emblazoned atop. The Yeezy remains the cynosure of many a sneaker-lover, while the Pharell has found more widespread appeal among the millennial set.