Tiffany & Co, designers of world class jewellery for over 180 years, have collaborated on watches, handbags, sunglasses and more - but right now, it’s a partnership with the Swoosh that has us all talking. The Tiffany & Co x Nike Air Force 1 is here.
The world renowned jeweller, founded in 1837, introduced the inimitable ‘1837 Blue’ in the 1940s, and the time has come for it to grace the timeless silhouette of the Air Force 1. It was trademarked by Tiffany in 1998, and is named after the year the company was founded. Tiffany & Co themselves state that it is “recognised as an international symbol for style, sophistication and unparalleled design”.
Tiffany Dunk
To some, it may not feel like the first time the brands have collaborated, as we’d already witnessed the blue on the upper of the Diamond Supply Co. 'Tiffany Dunk SB Low' in 2005, and then of course, the High in 2014. However, these weren't official Tiffany collabs. The skateboard and streetwear store founder Nick Tershey thought that the Tiffany blue wasn’t reaching its full potential, as it had never appeared on apparel or sneakers. So, he decided to incorporate it into a Dunk design and the Diamond Supply x Nike Dunk SB Low was born. With a silver swoosh and croc skin style upper, it certainly looked like Tiffany & Co could have been behind it.
The mere mention of Tiffany and Nike collaborating set our minds racing back to that 2005 release, a sneaker which is heralded as one of the best sneakers of all time amongst sneakerheads - so it was always going to take something special to top it. And, with the Air Force 1 having just celebrated its 40th birthday last year, the timing seems right for it to pull this collab out of the bag.
Black and Blue
For this release, two colorways have been teased - black, and blue, both in high quality materials - did you expect anything less? The black pair are almost all black - with a black suede upper, black tongue, black laces, black Tiffany tongue tag and a black midsole. The ‘Tiffany Blue’ swoosh jumps right off the black upper, and a silver Tiffany tag sits on the heel counter. They come in a Tiffany Blue box, with a white swoosh gracing the lid, and a cursive ‘Tiffany’ on the underside, with the classic Nike Orange filling the box.
The blue pair sports an all ‘Tiffany Blue’ tumbled leather upper with black eyestays, black rope laces, black dubraes, black suede swoosh, black tongue and a black Tiffany tongue tag. To contrast this, we see a white midsole and blue outsole, as well as the silver tag on the heel counter. This pair will arrive in a ‘Nike Orange’ box with ‘Tiffany’ in cursive across the top. Both boxes filled with old school Tiffany & Co adverts adorning the tissue paper.
Accessorising
Silver Tiffany & Co x Nike accessories are releasing alongside the sneakers, including a shoehorn, dubraes, a whistle and a toothbrush to keep you looking fresh. And, although the pair will come in at a steep $US400 price-tag, sadly, none of the accessories are included.
League Leader
With a collab of this magnitude, it was of course LeBron James who would lead the way in showing us all how to style them out, rocking the new collab with a recent tunnel fit. As the recently crowned NBA all-time leading scorer, James completely deserved the top spot too. Looking sharp in all black; James paired the sneakers with a Tiffany & Co x Nike varsity jacket, as well as the Tiffany Blue Patek Philippe Nautilus 5711 watch - the value of which is approx €48,000.00 rrp. That is some tunnel fit.
It’s not the first time that Nike have collaborated with brands outside their industry; we’ve seen the Nike SB x Ben & Jerry’s Dunk Low Pro and the Nike SB x Travis Scott x PlayStation Dunk Low Pro to name but two, and they’re both asking for some hefty prices on the secondary market. There’s no telling what these Tiffany’s will fetch.
Thinking outside the box
As for Tiffany & Co, they've also ventured away from their traditional roots in more recent times, especially since the LVMH (Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton) takeover in 2021. With the collaborations between Louis Vuitton and Christian Dior with Nike, Tiffany & Co also wanted a piece of the action. And, with the Dior Jordan 1s releasing at $2,000.00 a pair, and now reselling at upwards of $11,000.00 a pair, who can blame them?
So with the new company at the helm, it is spurring on new and varied collaborations such as Tiffany & Co x Supreme, where the brands merged on a jewellery line including pearls, a bracelet, necklace, earrings, key rings, and of course, a classic tee. And for the 57th Super Bowl, a Tiffany & Co x Mitchell & Ness jersey was released - commemorating the 2023 Super Bowl with a large '57' emblazoned across the chest and back. The brand is certainly now pushing boundaries.
In parallel to the Tiffany x Nike collab, we’ve received a teaser from another familiar brand; one that, in the same vein, hasn't officially collaborated with the Swoosh previously, but it certainly looked like it. We are of course referring to the Dutch beer giant, Heineken. In 2003, Nike released an SB Dunk Low featuring a Heineken green suede and white leather upper, jet black swoosh, punchy red laces, and the pièce de résistance - a red star with a white outline towards the heel. Although not officially a collaboration with Heineken, the inspiration was there for all to see, and it was glorious.
30 years after its original (unofficial) release, a Nike SB Dunk Low Heineken 2.0 is on the cards for 2023. With an instagram post on January 30 this year, the beer brand stated that they too "Love a Fresh Pair" and even tagged @tiffanyandco to boot. With this to look forward to as well in 2023, the sneaker world sure is looking bright.
So there you have it - the Tiffany & Co x Nike Air Force 1, likely to hit online at Tiffany’s and the SNKRS app. Although quite understated, the smaller details certainly show they still mean business. Whether you love them or hate them, they’re certainly starting conversations, and as someone who can talk about sneakers all day long, I couldn’t hope for more. A release date is for now set for 7th March 2023.
For updates on the release, be sure to stay tuned to all things @sneakerjagers.