MANILA, Philippines - Swatch has unveiled a new set of Swatch watches — the fantastic and exceptionally creative Art, Fashion & Sport collection.
Three designers from the worlds of fashion (Rankin), art (Markus Linnenbrink), and sports (Terje Haakonsen) explore and express broad-based, popular themes in diverse and wide-ranging lines.
Swatch is available at Swatch stores in SM Megamall, Glorietta 4, Greenbelt 5 and TriNoma; Swatch Kiosks in SM Mall of Asia, SM City North EDSA, SM City Davao, Glorietta 3, Rockwell Power Plant Mall, Greenhills V-Mall, Shangri-La Plaza, Robinsons Place, Ermita, Sta. Lucia East Grand Mall, Festival Mall and Ayala Center, Cebu; and Hole in the Wall shops in Alabang Town Center and Ayala Marquee Mall, Angeles, Pampanga.
Fashion: Rankin
Famed British fashion photographer Rankin has created eight new watches in the classic Gent Original format to enrich the Swatch & Art collection. Five are presented in the form of a set in their own special packaging, available in a limited and numbered edition of 777 pieces. Three additional Gents designed by the British photographer are sold separately in unlimited editions.
London-based photographer and director Rankin’s images continue to create the hallmarks of contemporary iconography. Co-founder of a trend-setting magazine, his work ranges from portraits of celebrities to those of displaced persons in the Congo. He has earned a reputation for creative portraiture and his work, which often questions established notions of beauty, appears regularly in galleries around the world, as well as on billboards and magazine covers.
As a director, he has shot music videos for top-selling artists, commercials for global brands and the award-winning feature film, The Lives of the Saints. He is also known as a documentary filmmaker for The Seven Photos that Changed Fashion, South Africa in Pictures, and the soon-to-be-released Shooting the Stars, which traces the history of photography in Hollywood. Rankin also supports a number of charities. He lives and works in north London, based out of the studio and gallery that he had purpose-designed.
Art: Markus Linnenbrink
German artist Markus Linnenbrink contributes two models to the new collection, We’reAllGonnaDie (ForRon) and TimeIsNeverTimeEnough. Both are characteristic representatives of the artist’s unmistakable style. Linnenbrink notably uses layered streaks of vivid color or pools of dripped colored resin to create distinctive works that catch and hold the eye.
Representing sports, the third of the Swatch brand pillars, is Norwegian snowboarder Terje Haakonsen. Terje was the dominant figure in freestyle snowboarding in the 1990s, with multiple US Open, European and World Championships to his name. A key member of the Swatch Proteam, Terje has created two new models, Rune Stone and North Signs.