GRIPPING GUCCI
MAISON ROLLS OUT NEW SKATEBOARDING-INSPIRED GRIP MODELS
Creative director since 2015, Alessandro Michele has designed clothing and accessories that grip Gucci fans.
His vision of a watch offers a firmer grip through a streamlined design that sits snugly on the wrist.
Michele simply named the unisex timepiece Grip, whose success led to a series that includes chronographs and the new roulette models. Additionally, a collaboration with Disney has Mickey Mouse appearing on the Grip watch to symbolise the Year of the Rat.
Through the timepiece and its campaign, the Italian designer puts the spotlight on skateboarding communities and their radical lifestyles. He actually drew inspiration from the grip tape on a skateboard’s deck that keeps sneakers from slipping.
Skateboarders and artists from London, Paris,
Rome, Tokyo, New York, Shanghai and Seoul share their personal stories through artworks and videos in a special project that celebrates the spirit of skateboarding.
The collaboration is marked by Gucci’s ArtWall instalment by British artist Kieron Livingstone, who illustrated the Grip watch on the wall of a building, just off East London’s famous Brick Lane.
The debut collection includes four quartz timepieces in a rounded square case with apertures, in which three white rotating disks indicate the hour, minute and date.
Two editions in steel or yellow gold PVD feature an engraved Interlocking G logo on the case and bracelet.
The latest rendition features a bolder grey PVD face and bracelet with the engraving, while the dark metal coating renders a titanium effect.
Featuring the Interlocking G motif, a hand indicates the chronograph function in a larger 40mm steel model matched with a bracelet, whereas a handless variant with a black rubber strap features a red dot moving around the edge of the dial to form the chronograph function.
Michele shows his playful side in the new Grip Roulette, in steel or yellow gold PVD, that enables wearers to express their mood. By pushing a top button, the roulette function will change the word from a choice of Chance, Future, Tenebrae or Amour that appears in a window on the vintage-style dial.