I recently waxed on about how The Met and other artistic institutions were partnering up with clothing, accessory, and handbag brands to bring wearable art to market, based upon actual, licensed classics.
Move over Cartier, we have something low to mix in with your Alo get up, perfect for banging up against barbells at Barry’s.
bish, gimme the specs
There are two sizes: 41 mm for the Monet and the Pollock, 34 mm for the Klee and the Degas. The latter is decidedly more feminine while the former can really read either feminine or masculine. Silicone straps (save for Degas, which is polymer), polymer clasps, buckle closures, bio-sourced cases across the board for the Guggenheim collaboration. Quartz movement and three bar water resistant (read: do not wear these watches swimming).
and the price?
The 41 mm are priced at $115 and the petite 34 mm lands at $105. Accessible!
swatch x the guggenheim
top to bottom: Monet’s Palazzo Ducale // Pollock’s Alchemy // Klee’s Bavarian Don Giovanni // Degas’ Dancers
Apparently I have been living under a rock for the past few years because the Guggenheim collaboration is not the first of Swatch high art variety. It seems that the Tate Gallery and before that, the Museum of Modern Art and Centre Pompidou collaborated with the iconic, accessible, watch brand to bring fine art to wristwatches everywhere.
swatch x the tate gallery
top to bottom: Matisse’s Snail // Miro’s Women & Bird in the Moonlight
swatch x moma
swatch x centre pompidou
top to bottom: Kandinsky’s Blue Sky // Kalho’s The Frame // Modigliani’s Portrait of Dedie
I sent this over to my partner in art podcasting Robert (yes, that Robert) and while he said that he absolutely would not be buying a Swatch, not now, not ever, I think there is something to wearing one, specifically of the Degas design, while I am slumming it at the gym. I obviously love the Matisse from the Tate Gallery collection and the Kandinsky from the Centre Pompidou collection, because, hello, have you never heard me wax poetic about these two icons over the podcast?
