Swatch synchronizes with the times
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If you were a teenager in the 1980s, you probably wore a Swatch or two or five. And since this decade’s designers have been rehashing ‘80s fashion trends (shoulder-padded blazers, baggy “boyfriend” jeans and wide belts), the timing is right for the Swiss watchmaker to make its resurgence.
Swatch, which made the late graffiti artist Keith Haring a household name, again looks to the street for its latest artistic collaboration this summer. The watchmaker enlisted New York’s Billy the Artist and Matthew Langille, along with Europeans Ted Scapa and Grems, to channel the decade’s mix of street and sleek for its Artist Collection, which debuted in 1985 and has featured work by Yoko Ono, Annie Leibovitz and Robert Altman.
“Swatch, although iconic, it kind of lost its edge,” says Patricia Higgins, brand president of Swatch USA. “With this [collaboration] we’re really going back to our roots -- it reeks Swatch, it’s what we were known for.”
Langille, 27, who also does T-shirt graphics for Marc Jacobs, drafted three designs for Swatch -- Snuggle Bunch, Floating Away and Germaholic -- featuring Haring-esque graphics, teddy bears and primary colors.
Langille says the funniest is the Germaholic “because I’m a bit of a hypochondriac. It’s a hypochondriac germ screaming at the top of his lungs because he’s surrounded by other germs and having a panic attack.” Although the design looks retro, it suits our swine/avian flu pandemic times.
Of course, what made teenage girls able to stack Swatches on wrists like bangles was their price. And the watches are still affordable. The Artist Collection runs $55 to $95 and the timepieces are still made in Switzerland, same as a Rolex.
-- Max Padilla
‘80s fashion icons who could like totally wear that again
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