What happened
The whispers have been confirmed: A much-rumored high profile collaboration between Supreme and Tiffany & Co. will drop this week. The two brands teased a twenty-second short video on their Instagram accounts last week that did not reveal any details except for an image of a young man in a white T-shirt and a pearl necklace.
Now, the collection — called Return To Tiffany® — has been fully unveiled, inspired by pieces originally launched in the 1960s and comprised of pendants, necklaces, bracelets, earrings, rings, and keyrings. Here, Supreme’s iconic box logo smartly taps Tiffany’s signature Robin Egg Blue for products that launch on Thursday 11th November at 11 AM EDT on Supreme’s website.
The Jing Take
An alliance between Supreme and LVMH is hardly novel. Given the remarkable results from recent Supreme x LV and Supreme x Rimowa drops, it is no surprise the 29-year-old Alexandre Arnault — Rimowa’s former CEO and the current executive vice president of communications and products at Tiffany's — would try another collision of styles for the conglomerate's jewelry brand.
Yet netizen opinions about the project are mixed. With the rise of the “he” economy (or male consumption), this strategy is likely to work for the American jewelry maker now that China is shifting away from traditional masculinity toward a more inclusive definition. As such, many now consider male jewelry an emerging, untapped opportunity for the luxury sector. And, as streetwear continues to be the golden ticket for reaching young consumers, Tiffany will continue trying to harvest as many pockets as possible.
But traditional shoppers may be less excited. The “Not Your Mother’s Tiffany's” campaign and its hyped collaboration with Supreme could be too alienating from its previous brand perception for many clients.
The Jing Take reports on a piece of the leading news and presents our editorial team’s analysis of the key implications for the luxury industry. In the recurring column, we analyze everything from product drops and mergers to heated debate sprouting on Chinese social media.