My Gen Z view on the collab everyone is talking about.
Nick Stipidis on the latest pairing of two super brands that sold out in seconds.
As many will know, Supreme is no stranger to collaboration and so I guess I would have expected this from them. Tiffany & Co. on the other side, I was more intrigued by. In my opinion, this collaboration is a repeat strategy of what Louis Vuitton did with Supreme in their history-making partnership nearly five years ago in 2017. It completely injected a burst of Gen Z into Louis Vuitton and rejuvenated the brand making it cooler, more relatable, desirable, and more attractive to younger consumers. So why not use the same strategy to help ignite a love for Tiffany & Co. with the same cohort? Interestingly enough both Louis Vuitton and Tiffany & Co. are LVMH brands…
“What I’ll find interesting now is to watch and see if this gives T&Co. the boost it needs with young people engaging with their brand.”
It is a tactical move to refresh the T&Co. image away from an old-fashioned jeweller and to appeal to the younger demographic by tapping into the Supreme loyalists to elevate Tiffany’s into that space. I’m not against that – in fact, I think it’s clever and I’m not surprised Supreme has done it – everything they do sells. Supreme has had a plethora of great partnerships, over the years, including with the more obscure brands such as makeup brand Pat McGrath lipsticks last year and even BMX dating back to 1998.
What I’ll find interesting now is to watch and see if this gives T&Co. the boost it needs with young people engaging with their brand. A great example of how a well-thought-through brand collaboration can reap rewards is when Aimé Leon Dore partnered with New Balance. It made other lines of New Balance cool in a way they hadn’t been perceived before, just because they were similar looking to the coveted designer collection – no surprises, the news is just out that they’re dropping another line together.
“…over two-thirds, 68%, reported that they felt Supreme’s collaborations with other brands were getting too much, yet 71% still said they trust brands that Supreme collaborates with.”
While I like the drop from Tiffany & Co. x Supreme, I do question if the jewellery brand is trying too hard to be current and relevant. In the past year alone we’ve seen them fall victim to backlash for two of their campaigns – the ‘not your mother’s tiffany’ which totally alienated a lot of their loyal customers and the ‘Jay Z and Beyonce’ campaign which saw Beyonce wear the controversial diamond necklace in front of Jean-Michel Basquiat’s art – which many argued represented the opposite. This collaboration is undoubtedly a lot safer and has given their consumers something different but not expected.
We asked our community what they thought of this link up and although over two-thirds, 68%, reported that they felt Supreme’s collaborations with other brands were getting too much, yet 71% still said they trust brands that Supreme collaborates with. In short, the fact Tiffany & Co. x Supreme sold out in seconds proves it was successful. This one didn’t anger their older fans or put them under scrutiny, but it does highlight the power of Gen Z and how brands such as Tiffanys are very much taking note of their buying power.