A Packaging Geeks Dream
Why we’re geeking out over the Nike & Tiffany Air Force 1 collaboration.
Aside from this collaboration being a dynamic duo, with each brand complementing the other in terms of quality, design and innovation, there are amazing examples of just how much custom packaging touches can enhance the appeal of a product.
We’ll start with the shoe box. The exterior of the box, in Pantone 1837 (after the year Tiffany was founded), is a color-matching job that should only be trusted to printing experts. The ventilation grommet is finished in silver, mirroring the jewelers’ accessorial touches on the shoes themselves.
Specialty print and pattern continue on the box’s outer wrap, with a visible debossed texture featuring a custom Tiffany “T” design, resulting from an intricately customized impression plate, and a metallic silver foil hot-stamped logo series along the box bottom.
The interior offers a striking change with an opposing orange flooding the box from corner to corner. An opaque white hot-stamped Tiffany logo creates contrast and depth, reinforcing the delicacy and detail the brand is known for.
The shoes are further covered with amazing paper, which, based on the sound made evident through unboxing videos, leads us to believe a heavier than standard tissue weight was selected. This would help with shape retention, durability and accommodate heavier ink coverage. The artwork selected for the tissue is a wonderful mash-up of iconic Tiffany and Nike items throughout the years. With a broad range of colors and layered effects, it’s safe to assume a multi-plate print setup was needed to achieve the desired look.
And while the sterling silver shoe accessories, including deubré, a whistle and shoe horn, were only made available through Tiffany, the branding tie-ins continue with custom Nike Swoosh drawstring duster pouches in Tiffany blue.
Another item that surprised influencers and celebrities alike, the custom sterling silver shoe box, weighing in at 23 lbs and toting one-of-a-kind status with pricing only being disclosed upon request. How’s that for fancy footwork?
Our only suggestion to the legendary labels: consider including a drawstring duster bag across all shoe variations. They are, after all, the prized possession. With top-shelf materials of suede and sterling silver accent plates at the heals, the cover would go a long way in protecting your super fans’ investment, preventing discoloration or scuffing and maintaining the quality reputation the brands are known for.
Overall, we say well done to both! These will no doubt be a coveted series, keeping collectors hunting for years to come.
Image Credits: Tiffany.com, YouTube @SethFowler & @ToNYD2WiLD