Tiffany & Co. and Nike Air Force 1: How to get a 'legendary' pair – if you really want them

Nike and Tiffany & Co. are among the latest brands to create a luxury streetwear pairing.

The two have collaborated on a specially designed Air Force 1 sneaker and sterling silver accessories. The combination of the two brands, announced in January, marks the 40th anniversary of the iconic Nike shoe silhouette, a press release said.

The Tiffany and Nike shoe is made of black suede with the signature Tiffany blue being included in the Nike swoosh. There is a silver plate on the heel and "Tiffany" written in cursive on the tongue.

The sneaker has been getting mixed reviews on social media, but the brands still expect them to be in high demand.

How to buy the Tiffany Air Force 1

On March 3, enrollment opened for collectors to sign up for the opportunity to buy the shoes, listed at $400 a pair.

"Run, don’t walk. The Nike/Tiffany Air Force 1 1837 list is now open,"Tiffany said in a tweet. "Enroll before it’s too late."

The jewelry company partnered with EQL, a platform built for "high heat launches" to provide a product launch that provides "everyone a fair chance to purchase."

According to the Tiffany website, buyers will be notified March 6 via email to learn if their order is confirmed or not.

Confirmed orders will be readied to ship March 7 or can be picked up in New York City. The site also notes: "Aside from the confirmed pickups, no footwear will be publicly available for purchase at any Tiffany location on March 7."

What are people saying about the collaboration?

While the shoe was announced  as a "legendary pair," users on social media immediately gave their opinion about the collaboration and design, calling the special edition sneaker "hideous."

One user wrote, "Those Tiffany & Co x Nike AF1’s are something hideous."

"I want to know who designed the Tiffany x Nike collab," journalist Joyce Philippe wrote. "There was so much potential there, and yet..."

"Does Tiffany even have a brand identity any more? This collaboration with Nike is so poorly executed that it feels like a cynical attempt to cash in on the streetwear market about seven years too late," another user wrote. 

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Many critiques came from the choice of using a black Air Force 1, a sneaker which has gathered a reputation as comparable with a "ski mask" often associated with aggression, while fine jeweler Tiffany & Co. is known for its delicate jewelry selection. The dichotomy between a luxury jeweler and the feelings around the black Air Force sneaker didn't mix for observers.

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"Them choosing black Air Force 1s for this Tiffany’s collab is so funny cause it feels so contradictory to what black AF1s mean," Teen Vogue writer Aiyana Ishmael wrote.

But for others, the combination of the two was a "timely" conversation.

"A lot of people are hating on the Tiffany x Nike shoe but… the elevation of the black Air Force, the Air Force being iconic to Nike + the black color having its own mythology to the 'ski mask' way i love it," said wellness consultant Joe Holder, who has worked with Nike in the past. "Not timeless but timely, a nod to our current moment in many ways."

Contributing: Morgan Hines

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Tiffany & Co. Nike Air Force 1: Social media reactions, how to buy