Gucci embodies the spirit of the skateboarding community within its newest timepiece venture. This contemporary timepiece collection encapsulates and delivers the inclusivity and diversity of skaters – transporting individuals to a world of carving, kickflips, tail slides and airwalks. Inspired by the grip tape used by skaters to keep from sliding, this unique design delivers a contemporary statement that snugly grips the wrist. Creative Director Alessandro Michele heroes the Grip in a new project that invites skateboarders and artists to share their stories.
Global Genderless Revolution
This collaboration paints a portrait of inclusion featuring skating communities from seven cities around the world – London, Paris, Rome, Tokyo, New York, Shanghai and Seoul. The Italian House honours their genderless revolution whilst saluting to the authentic and radical element of skaters, inviting participants of different ages and genders to feature this watch. Alessandro transforms his fascination with the skating community into a spotlight on community, with the global campaign capturing different cultural hubs across the globe, each by a different photographer. From Dasom Han’s showcase of an all-female group of skateboarded in South Korea to Clémentine Schneidermann’s inclusion of grannies, this project captures the trans-generational aspect of the timepiece. The Gucci Grip generates a culture guided by no rules and freethinkers.
Image: Gucci Grip Campaign – Dasom Han
Skaters and their friends and families will be documented and pictured skating and hanging out, and the end result will include images, artworks and videos that together form a joyful portrait of action, creativity, inclusion, sociability and subculture.
Image: Gucci Grip Campaign – Clémentine Schneidermann
In commemoration of the collaboration, Gucci revealed an illustration by British artist, designer and art director Kieron Livingstone. This marks a new instalment of Gucci’s ArtWall project. Being the lead designer of Project Zoltar, an expression of the British punk-rock street scene, Kieron Livingstone infuses distinctive House codes with colours and fantastical elements. The end result is a graphic that showcases a gold Grip surrounded by zig-zag clouds, bunnies and clowns, a culmination of elements that aligns with the Fashion House’s visual discourse.
Image: The Gucci Grip art mural in Brick Lane, London.
“Magic and transformation served as inspirations,” Livingstone explains.
Image: Gucci Grip Campaign – Dora Diamant and Marilou Chabert
The Grip draws its inspirations from the 1970s, flaunting an innovative design that unveils a minimalistic way of reading time. The timepiece boasts a rotating dial that displays the hour, minute and date within three small openings. Its unique frame, reminiscent to that of a scale, houses a mechanism hidden within a GG engraved metal case. This retro-futuristic piece is available in both gold and silver with a wide variety of metal and leather strap options.
