This is the luxury jeweler’s first foray into footwear, though details are scant
As Nike increasingly looks to the luxury market for marketing and distribution inspiration, it’s getting set to unveil a buzzy luxe collab—with jeweler Tiffany.
Both brands teased the collab Sunday through their social media, with a Tiffany-blue Nike sneaker box and the line “A legendary pair.” The same image appeared in a New York Times ad in Sunday’s print edition.
Little is known about the contents of the box, though the Nike-Tiffany rumors have been rampant since images leaked on Jan. 24 of a black suede, low-top Air Force 1 featuring a Tiffany-blue leather swoosh. This would be Tiffany’s first venture into footwear. Visitors to Tiffany.com are encouraged to sign up for text and email alerts about the product.
UPDATE: Tiffany revealed a product shot on Tuesday, Jan. 31, along with other assorted imagery.
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Nike has been encircling the luxury market for some time, and taking cues from its business models—driving prices up by creating scarcity, and moving away from third-party retailers to gain greater control over prices and brand image. Nike’s Jordan Brand has partnered with LVMH’s Christian Dior, while the late creative director Virgil Abloh created versions of Nike’s Air Force One. Gen Z has also been helping to drive luxury sales, so there is a demographic rationale as well.
The full extent of Nike’s ambitions to become a de facto luxury house are unclear. Conceptually, embracing more exclusive goods—even if separate from the mainstream brand and its messaging—may not be the easiest fit, considering Nike’s longtime inclusive “Just Do It” ethos for a world where everybody is an athlete.
“I obviously love Nike. They played a big part in my career. But the upcoming Nike x Tiffany collab highlights how far off track they’re running,” the former Wieden+Kennedy strategist Rob Campbell wrote on Twitter. “Seemingly chasing the money not the athlete. I hope I’m wrong. I may be being purist. But that’s what made Nike different. Once.”
ENDS
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This article first appeared https://adage.com
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