The cross-pollination between architecture and fashion finds one of its most fertile grounds in watchmaking, where form, structure, and function merge into objects that become true “architectures for the wrist.” Many brands have drawn from architectural language, translating buildings, volumes, and compositions into iconic timepieces; others, instead, have directly involved renowned architects, transforming their visions into wearable micro-structures.
A striking example is Renzo Piano, who, in collaboration with Swatch, created the Jelly Piano: a watch inspired by the Centre Pompidou, echoing its famous “inside-out” aesthetic by making the movement visible, just as the building exposes its structural and technical systems. Similarly, Louis Vuitton partnered with Frank Gehry for the Tambour Moon Flying Tourbillon, a timepiece that reflects the sculptural spirit of the Fondation Louis Vuitton, translating its fluid forms into a complex and dynamic case.
More experimental is the project developed in the 1990s by ACME Studio together with Zaha Hadid: a watch with irregular, unconventional lines that remained at the prototype stage due to production challenges. Of the six pieces created, each now stands as a testament to the architect’s visionary aesthetic. A different approach is taken by Mido, which, without direct collaborations, draws inspiration from the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum by Frank Lloyd Wright. The Guggenheim Limited Edition model references the building’s dome through an eggshell-colored dial with a granular texture.
Finally, Audemars Piguet explored, in the 1960s, a dialogue with Brutalism, creating asymmetrical and geometric watches produced in extremely limited series, an exercise in style that translates the expressive power of radical architecture into horology.
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@fondationlv
Domus 752, settembre 1993
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