Swatch and Damien Hirst Join to Celebrate Mickey Mouse's 90th Anniversary



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18h03 PST 16/11/2018

by

Laurie Brookins

Collectors must set their alarms on Saturday at 23h. PST

If you're a fan of Damien Hirst's stunning Mickey Mouse paintings, but your five-digit price tag is shocking to you, Swatch just has the tribute to you.

The watchmaker, known for his playful yet affordable, yet highly collectible styles, has teamed up with the famous British artist to offer a pair of watches on the occasion of Mickey Mouse's 90th birthday, joining a plethora of products created to celebrate the nine decades of iconic character.

Hirst signed with Swatch about a year ago to design this piece, inspired by versions of his famous one-time paintings that he created from the mouse that built the Disney home. "When you touch icons, you can only do it with extreme talent," says Carlo Giordanetti, creative director of Swatch. "Mickey is something that transcends the ages. This is an icon too big to be touched if you do not use a very great artist. "

Both styles of the Swatch's Art Special collection are limited edition and bear Hirst's signature on the rubber bracelets, which were also designed by the artist. A reflective dial, nicknamed Mirrored Spot Mickey, has gone on sale today online and in-store, at 19,999 copies, priced at $ 125 each. Serious Swatch collectors, however, will probably set their alarms for 23 hours. PST on Saturday, when 1,999 pieces of style simply called Spot Mickey ($ 185), with Hirst's interpretation against a black dial, will go on sale online for just 24 hours. Why Sunday? Mickey's 90th Anniversary: ​​The first Walt Disney cartoon featuring his legendary mouse, Steamboat Willie, was premiered on November 18, 1928.

Swatch chose Shanghai as the site for its launch Thursday night, not only because of its immense popularity in Asia, but also because the cosmopolitan city is where you will find the Swatch Art Peace Hotel, a watchmaker, a residency program for artists. As part of the launching ceremony, Swatch has invited 10 of his residency artists to perform Mickey Mouse, which is also remarkable, said Giordanetti, because it is unusual for Disney to accept a concept that leaves a group of people in the same house. contemporary artists free to interpret the icon. as everyone wanted. "When you approach them for the first time, it's almost scary; you think, Omigod, we can not do anything, "adds Giordanetti. "It can be very intimidating, but you understand that all this is for the sake of the icon."

Next Sunday, where could Spot Mickey be among Swatch's limited edition launches? Giordanetti laughs. "Make sure you get up early," he said. "Otherwise, he will be gone."

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