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Smile! It's the Hublot Gothic Art Watch

Photo credit: rs.solutions
Photo credit: rs.solutions

From Esquire

Hublot has announced a collaboration with Takashi Murakami. The Japanese pop artist is known for his anime-inspired “superflat” creations, psychedelic colour palate and recurring motifs including mushrooms, skulls and, in particular, flowers. Noted for “blurring the lines” between fine art and commerce, he has long been a favourite of the fashion world, having previously collaborated with Comme des Garçons, Visvim and Louis Vuitton under Marc Jacobs in the early 2000s – arguably setting a template for designer labels' love-in with artists that endures today. Murakami's hippy-happy designs have also been used in collaboration with musicians, notably Kanye West and Billie Eilish, and multiple streetwear brands including Supreme, Billionaire Boys Club and Vans.

In one sense, the Hublot Classic Fusion Takashi Murakami All Black represents a break with the artist’s signature colourful style – it is indeed ‘all black’ – in another it is eye-catchingly on-brand.

Instead of colour, Murakami has used texture and movement to bring the watch to life: it features his “smiling flower" motif with free-spinning petals, set with 456 black diamonds. There are another 107 black diamonds on the watch’s face.

Photo credit: Hublot
Photo credit: Hublot

“The one thing I did request was to go all-black on our first collaboration,” Murakami says. “The first impression I had when I learned about Hublot was its signature black rubber (strap).”

The watch uses a Hublot manufacture automatic UNICO movement with 72-hour power reserve and is produced in a limited run of 200, priced £20,000.

hublot.com

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