The Resurgence of Tiffany Co. & High-Low Culture Collabs
An Unlikely Partnership Unfolds
What up!
Normally SNOBHOP is published on Friday’s, but today is a special post because SNOBHOP has reach over 200 Subscribers!
A huge thanks goes to everyone who’s been reading/sharing etc., seriously.
And if you know someone who’d like this newsletter, feel free to send it their way. There’s a ton in store this year, and it’s only gonna get better.
With that out the way, let’s get to the first of this week’s TWO POSTS!
On Saturday afternoon, a mysterious post made its way across the social feeds of sneakerheads.
At first glance, it was an Air Force 1 box sporting the iconic Tiffany & Co. blue colorway. Some speculated that it was fan art because, after all, that could be the only explanation. The other would be incredible… Unexpected, even.
As it turns out… The photo was real.
And as the picture above suggests, Nike is partnering with Tiffany and Co. on a special edition of the Air Force One (rumored to retail at $400).
Tiffany & Co. has been around for almost 200 years. And, by the looks of it, they’re hoping to win with a new generation by blending high and low cultures.
So today, let’s talk about it: the collaborations, their story, and their history. It’s conflicting, but it’s all the more reason we should mention it.
Let’s get it.
The Origins
Tiffany and Co. was founded in the early 1800s in New York by Charles Lewis Tiffany & his friend John B Young. With $1000 in financing from his father, he and John opened a stationery store that sold “fancy goods.”
Located on Broadway, Tiffany's was able to find success with “fancy goods” before moving into the diamond business. By 1877, Charles garnered a reputation for "acquiring" rare stones, and he eventually became known as the “King of Diamonds” throughout the U.S. & internationally.
By the 1920’s Tiffany was a mainstay in jewelry and they continued to maintain their place in culture by being be known for quality. However they experienced a “boom” in popularity thanks to an iconic performance from the one and only…
Audrey Hepburn.
Audrey Hepburn Made America Want Breakfast
The mean reds are horrible… When I get it the only thing that does any good is to jump in a cab and go to Tiffany's. Calms me down right away. The quietness and the proud look of it; nothing very bad could happen to you there. If I could find a real-life place that'd make me feel like Tiffany's, then - then I'd buy some furniture and give the cat a name!
Hepburn was a modern fashion icon who pushed the lore of Tiffany’s to entirely new heights. (She was also instrumental in the rise of the fashion house Givenchy, but that’s another story)
More to the point, Hepburn’s role in Breakfast at Tiffany's highlighted a few interesting cultural tensions that helped catapult Tiffany into the hearts and minds of many Americans:
She played a teenage girl named Holly who was trying to support herself and her brother at war. Holly was ambitious, scattered, and searching for stability — and living a farce. She had no money, and embodied the clash of high-low culture.
The movie’s co-sign gave Tiffany & co. a boost, as Hepburn’s character associated being at the Tiffany store with a happy life, or rather, a perfect one.
She was Ferris Bueller before Ferris Bueller — the image of “cool” personified.
Which is cool and all… But Tiffany’s became inaccessible
As the decades passed, perception of what Tiffany & Co represented would continue to shift.
Although Audrey Hepburn was an icon in her time, and Breakfast at Tiffany’s is a classic American film, it nor Tiffany & co. occupied the same space in consumers minds as it once had.
The brand still felt old and there was also a growing perception that their prices were inflated because quality diamonds could be found somewhere else. This proved to be a huge reputational flaw — one that was exacerbated by the periodic recessions that the U.S. economy would experience.
Despite all of this, one characteristic gave Tiffany a glimmer of hope with a demographic they normally wouldn’t reach: young people.
And what was it that they liked about Tiffany? Tiffany Blue.
Which Brings Us to Diamond Supply Co.
Although young people weren't buying Tiffany in droves, they eventually developed an affinity for the “Tiffany Blue” pantone.
And though Nike had yet to do an official partnership with Tiffany, acclaimed skateboard hardware company Diamond Supply Co. would go on to use the iconic aqua blue pantone for their collaboration with Nike nicknamed the “Tiffany Dunk”
To this day, the Diamond Supply co. Tiffany dunks remain an expensive buy on the resell market and this collaboration cemented the colorway in the minds of diehard sneakerheads.
It proved successful and sneakerheads latched onto the “Tiffany” colorway. Diamond Supply even released a high-top version years later. But despite this success, Tiffany & Co. still had its struggles.
They made a few attempts over the years to become more culturally relevant through brand ambassadorships with rappers like A$AP Ferg, and even allowing fans to have breakfast at the Tiffany & Co. store in New York. However, declining in-store traffic, discrimination lawsuits from employees, and the 2020 pandemic big spelled trouble for the once fabled brand.
The stage was set for a Takeover
News had been swirling around for years that Tiffany was struggling financially, like many big-box retailers.
By 2021, rumors surfaced that Bernard Arnault, one of the world’s richest men, and the head of the fashion conglomerate LVMH had interest in acquiring Tiffany & co. for over $15 billion.
The merger would eventually happen after some back and forth, and honestly it made sense for a few reasons:
Reports show that LVMH was looking to make headway in the jewelry sector — a place where Tiffany was firmly established.
Bernard Arnault had a track record for revamping older fashion houses
Tiffany & Co. was struggling to reach a new demo — something LVMH just achieved with their Rihanna/Fenty deal.
LVMH used its formula on Tiffany…
Immediately after Arnault and LVMH took over Tiffany & Co., they did away with some of the conventions Tiffany & co. was famous for.
Employees noted that within weeks they even saw new brand work pop up with the tagline “Not Your Mother’s Tiffany” — an attempt by the brand to establish itself with younger generations.
Although history had shown that this approach at a brand refresh had served LVMH well, the campaign received a some backlash from past Tiffany & Co. supporters claiming it alienated its customer base by saying that it didn’t want to be associated with an older generation.
On the flipside, the “Not Your Mother’s Tiffany” campaign proved that Tiffany & Co. could play in a new space: Youth culture.
As a brand that has historically evoked images of aristocracy, wealthy White families, and what many of us (especially those in the south) know as old money, Tiffany & co. was now venturing into a territory that promoted accessibility, youth, and edge.
Tiffany Continued to Bet on the Youth
Following the introduction of “Not Your Mother’s Tiffany” the brand continued to find ways to entrench itself in youth culture.
That quest led them to Supreme.
Supreme was lifestyle brand started in 1994 by skateboarding enthusiast James Jebbia. To date Supreme is loved by fashionistas and hypebeasts alike for their coveted drops which sell out almost instantaneously. (I missed out on that Andre 3k shirt!)
For Tiffany, Supreme would present the perfect partner for three reasons:
They were an apparel brand that had deeps roots in youth culture,
They were based in New York where Tiffany was founded
Supreme was also know for being well… supreme (in its quality and pricing)
Needless to say, the collection did fairly well. In fact, according to reports it sold out in seconds.
Then They Reached Out to The Carters …
Building on the success of the Supreme collab, Tiffany & Co continued its quest to regain a foothold in culture by partnering with The Carters for a new campaign — a campaign that would see them unveiling a never-before-seen Basquiat painting, and rare look at one of America’s most private couples.
The campaign led to conversation across social media, and accomplished its goal of giving Tiffany a “fresher” look, but it was met with some criticism as Bey unknowingly wore Tiffany & Co’s Yellow Diamond - a blood diamond that was mined from the Kimberley mines in Africa. Though Tiffany has clarified that its diamonds are ethically sourced these days, the lineage of the Yellow Diamond remains a stain on its history.
However, with more work with Bey rolling out in the form of Renaissance commercials, Tiffany didn’t stop there…
They Also Reached Out to K. Dot
In further continuing push into Hip-hop culture, Tiffany designed a crown of thorns for Compton’s savior Kendrick Lamar.
The crown was handcrafted & featured over 8000 diamonds. It’s announcement was even paired with behind the scenes content that could show the new generation exactly how much detail went into their products. Again, dope.
All of which Brings Us Back to Nike…
Some sneakerheads are puzzled about the new collaboration, but honestly it works.
When you factor in LVMH’s tried and true formula for turning around struggling brands, and the cultural significance of Nike, it only makes sense that Tiffany would choose to partner with them.
The collection itself is scheduled to drop on March 7th and includes the dunks seen below. All black with a “Tiffany Blue” swoosh and sterling silver button on the back (seen below)
The collab even includes sterling silver accessories that align with sneaker culture quite well like a sterling silver toothbrush (seen below) a whistle, and a few other trinkets. So, if the $400 price tag for the Nike’s is a bit too steep, you can still get something cool from the collection .
But, what’s the bottom line?
It’s… Bet on the youth.
The real is this: legacy brands generally “die” because they’re overrun with organizational politics, out of touch management, and an outdated way of thinking about their audience.
What Tiffany & Co. shows us is that even if all of this is true, as long as you look towards a new audience, a younger audience, and appeal to them in the right way you’ll never truly lose relevance. In fact, you might find that you’ve been neglecting a market that was the perfect fit for you.
When in doubt, the youth are our saviors. To quote Young Thug:
“Diamonds from Tiffany & Co. Paid a whole hundred racks for those”
Peace.