Hublot and Shepard Fairey collaborate on Big Bang Meca-10

Hublot has been doing some great stuff in the last 12 months. Look at the Usain Bolt, the Red Magic, and now this reference:

I’ve been a fan of Shepard’s since 1997 when I saw a documentary about him on someone’s dirty old vhs tape that was full of other pre internet virality. Is virality a word? Yes, it is now. His fame stems from making stickers from a picture of Andre the Giant he started putting up around Rhode Island in the early 1990s. Now you can see Andre stickers and wheat-pastes everywhere.   I wrote an actual letter to Shepard back in 1998.  he wrote me back and sent me a bunch of stickers and and copy machine printouts and stuff, I still have it all in the original envelope with some long forgotten address.

I had one of these on my last car.

You can find MANY docs on the subject on youtube here

You might know him from the Hope poster he designed for the Obama campaign back in 2008.  And was subsequently sued for his appropriation of the original photographers work.  Read more about that here.

Anyhow, Hublot is putting out this reference with some of his design elements on it: the star gear logo at 3:00, the finish on the case and the strap itself.  It’s only a million times better than any Alec Monopoly ever did.

A few details and snaps of Shepard:

Reference:  414.YF.1137.VR.SHF18 / 414.YL.5179.VR.SHF18

Diameter: 45mm

Thickness: 15.95 mm

Water Resistant: 100m

Case & Bezel: Carbon Fiber and Light Texalium Upper Layer

The movement features a 10 day power reserve with 24 jewels operating at 3Hz.  Not bad for 223 parts.

It’s an edition of 100 in each color way (shoe reference…see what I did there?!?!?!?)

Would I wear it?

You bet I would. I like Shepard and most of his work.   We go way back.

This watch is the best Hublot piece I’ve covered in the last 12 months, easy.

One last bit:  Online art purveyor Artsy has a whole section devoted to Shep’s Obama Portraits.  Check them out here.  Maybe I should reach out to them to sell my Banksy print collection.