With Legacy Fashion Brands Entering The Watchmaking Space, Is It Time To Embrace Fashion Watches?
5 min read
When American singer songwriter Pharrell Williams was appointed as the creative director of Louis Vuitton’s menswear, it took the entire fashion world by storm. Why would a French luxury brand that is widely considered the gold standard for luxury fashion, appoint a musician as its creative director? The answer lies in creating a brand that goes far beyond just fashion or accessories. Pharrell’s appointment was an attempt in infusing an extra layer of diversity into the French Luxury brand on its journey to becoming a cultural brand that redefines the word luxury. Although he had no formal training in fashion design, the musician was offered this prestigious position with an aim to break boundaries across the various worlds Pharrell explores, aligning with Louis Vuitton’s status as a Cultural Maison, reinforcing its values of innovation, pioneering spirit, and entrepreneurship.
Exploring New Avenues
Perhaps it is this very same spirit of entrepreneurship embodied by various other luxury brands that has led to their foray into the highly specialized world of watchmaking. We have increasingly seen luxury fashion maisons such as Chanel, Hermes, Gucci, Ralph Lauren and so on dip their toes into the art of watchmaking expanding their product portfolios that span across several verticals including watches. But is it really that easy for a brand that excels in fashion to achieve the same success when it comes to the technology driven world of watchmaking? Can they really compete against legacy brands who have mastered the craft giving the world some of the most complex and mechanized timepieces? And most importantly- is it something that consumers would be interested in purchasing given the hefty price tag?
In the last two decades, Louis Vuitton has expanded far beyond its original territory of being a travel-focused luggage and small leather-good brand. It now sells, beyond its famed canvas of monogrammed bags, products ranging from perfumes to jewellery and even watches. Akin to a boy who becomes a man after he is 20 years old and begins to take his life seriously, Louis Vuitton has displayed a genuine interest in brushing up its watchmaking skills and producing some exceptional timepieces which rival those of some of the most sought after watchmaking brands in the world. in a similar vein, the newly launched Hermes Cut is a masterpiece in fine watchmaking as it combines the focused precision of a brand as revered as Hermes with the mechanical artistry of a watchmaker that has years of experience in the field.
Creating New Alliances
Perhaps one of the best examples of a successful segue from fashion to watches is luxury brand Cartier. What we know today as one of the best watchmaking brands in the world, originally began as a high jewellery brand creating some stunning jewellery creations. The iconic Cartier Tank, Panthere and Santos to name a few, are some of the most coveted watch models in the world today, making them a treasured addition to a collector’s collection. While Cartier does boast of almost a century in watchmaking, it has expertly fine-tuned its watchmaking arm during this time giving watch lovers a plethora of exceptional timepieces.
However, it is important to note that brand extensions are not magical, even in the luxury sector. Consumers may like a luxury brand’s handbags, but it does not mean they will like its timepieces. Brand familiarity helps to drive curiosity and store footfall but converting consumers to a new product category – and keeping them – is a different game altogether. A luxury brand that can do ‘everything’ is also less likely to be associated with craftsmanship. Most luxury brands have their roots in a specialised craft and claiming too many territories risk turning luxury brands into ‘Jacks of all trades’. A more sensible approach to exploring new territories for luxury brands is to collaborate with niche brands from other watchmaking universes.
To give you some instances, Chanel acquired a watch manufacturer in La Chaux-de-Fonds in 1993; Chopard introduced its L.U.C. collection in 1996; Cartier introduced its CPCP (Collection Privée Cartier Paris) in 1998; Hermes acquired a stake in Parmigiani Fleurier's Vaucher movement manufacturer in 2006; that same year, Ralph Lauren entered a partnership with Richemont to develop high-end Swiss watches. In most cases, lead to giving the timepieces some credibility from a watch perspective.
Design First
Fashion watches have received a lot of flak for giving greater importance to design while watchmaking expertise often takes a backseat. It takes good design as a first principle and then work backward from there to create something horologically significant. Like engineering a chronograph or a tourbillon, even a good design is a craft which makes it a different kind of watch complication. And who knows design better than fashion designers? With the design first strategy, there is a possibility of initially attracting a new consumer with the help of design, but truly impressing them with the depth and intricacy of superlative watchmaking. This strategy can be mutually beneficial for both the brand as well as the watch industry in general as it continues to raise the bar of this art that we call watchmaking.
Watch purists will argue that only those maisons who have an in-depth understanding of the intricacies of watchmaking can make stunning watches, but that may not always be true. The term luxury also includes anything that is done with extreme diligence and refinement. If a fashion brand can adhere to the demanding nature of watchmaking then they surely deserve a spot at the famed watchmaking table.
