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For someone who’s late all the time, a watch around the wrist is essential. So when I heard Swatch and Kidrobot teamed up and I received an invitation to attend the launch party at the insanely cool store Concrete, a certain feeling awoke. Has the time finally come for me to discover the watch that can make me more punctual?
Art, Dunnys and a watch
Kidrobot was founded in 2002 and is well known for the creation of toys, apparel and accessories by a team of several talented artists from all over the world. Collaborations with top brands happen on a regular base, so working together with Swatch was inevitable. Combining their iconic products, the collaboration resulted in a line named Kidrobot for Swatch: a collection of eight unique watches with a matching Dunny – Kidrobot’s famous vinyl art toy that looks like a bunny and is a true collector’s item. Every artist created a distinctive watch according to their personal style, leaving their famous signature on the Gent model and Dunny. Responsible for this colourful collection are the artists Kozik, Jeremyville, Mad, McPherson, Ssur, Baseman, Joe Ledbetter and my personal favourite, Tilt – whom I had the chance to have a talk with at the launch party.
I once got inspired by the structure of a wall on the street. Inspiration is everywhere.
Talking art with graffiti artist Tilt
Tilt stole my heart with his French accent, when he explained me his love for graffiti, travelling and the inspiration for his Swatch design named Love Song. The bubbly and colourful letters on this watch are actually the words of a song by French ’80s rockband Téléphone, where a man wants to go to New York with the woman he loves. “I was inspired by this song at a certain moment of my life when I was about to leave Toulousse for New York”, he explained. “There I was assigned to design the Kidrobot store, which I painted from the ceiling to the walls with the words of that song in my trademark bubble font. So when Kidrobot asked me to design a watch for Swatch, I instantly thought of that project.”
With one of his Dunnys in MoMa, exhibitions all over the world and projects in Asia, Tilt is what you could call a successful graffiti artist. When it comes to inspiration Tilt just looks around when travelling. “I get inspired by local people, billboards, ads and visiting the streets. I got inspired by the structure of a wall on the street once. Inspiration is everywhere.” While showing me a catalogue with photos of his art, I asked him if he ever created a piece of art in Amsterdam. “Of course! When I was here in the ’90s it was a sport to make something on your yellow bananas (old trains)”, he laughs. “But I also made a legal piece once with the colours of the Dutch flag. That’s something I do in every country I visit.” With a piece of art in my own notebook, he made me a happy girl. One who totally lost track of time while talking to him. I’d better pick a watch soon.
The Kidrobot for Swatch collection is available in Swatch stores now or can be purchased online for €50,-.
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