Steve Aoki to be face of Diesel’s new watch collection
Steve Aoki has snagged his newest fashion industry partnership.
The electronic dance music producer and DJ will become the watch ambassador for Diesel, serving as the face of the brand’s first transparency watch collection, which is launching today.
Last year, Aoki teamed with Asics to serve as a brand ambassador and footwear designer. This supplemented the Dim Mak fashion and lifestyle label he created more than a decade ago and his partnership in Vision Street Wear.
The deal with Diesel is intended to promote the new blue transparency watch line, the inspiration for which was drawn from the indigo dyeing of jeans, a hallmark of the brand. The new watch collection displays cream details on the dial that are inspired by the stitches used in denim, and cases and straps that fade from blue to crystal clear.
Andrea Rosso, creative director of licenses for Diesel and son of founder Renzo Rosso, said he’s known Aoki for a while and believes he and Diesel “have something in common. He never stops, he’s a manic guy; I’ve never met a guy who can do so much. And at Diesel, we never stop either. His style and his sense of aesthetic perfectly match the design and the clashing features of this watch, together with its new futuristic approach based on transparency.”
Rosso added that the “world of electronic music is so very much in line with our design and Steve also had a fit in the fashion field. He’s recognizable everywhere in music and fashion.”
Aoki said, “I’m constantly looking for ways to create and collaborate on unique and one-of-a-kind material, musically and artistically, whether it be through different brand collaborations, through my lifestyle and fashion brand Dim Mak or expanding my art collection. My mind is always on overdrive, which allows me to develop my brand through various channels.”
Aoki said that although he didn’t directly design the watch, “the creative…was orchestrated with my influence in mind, the clashing features and futuristic design of Diesel watches very much aligns with my style and aesthetics, on and off the stage.
“I plan on wearing my Diesel watches wherever I go, especially on tour, and it will be very much integrated into my active lifestyle.”
Aoki will be the face of Diesel’s 2018 watch campaign and was shot by French photographer and publisher Philippe Jarrigeon and styled by Justin Lynn for the ads. The multimillion-dollar campaign will be global and will run throughout the year. It will include billboards, digital/social and point-of-sale assets in the U.S., Germany, France, Italy, Japan and China.
The transparency collection will feature four models with stainless steel or nylon cases and glossy blue casings. They will retail for $140 to $240, which is comparable to all other watches in the Diesel line and are manufactured by Fossil Group, which holds the license for all of Diesel’s watch, smartwatch and jewelry categories. They will be sold in Diesel boutiques in addition to wholesale partners including Dillard’s, Zalando and Tmall.
Aoki is the fifth highest-paid DJ and regularly tours more than 250 days a year. He holds the Guinness Book of Records title for the “Most Traveled Musician in a Single Calendar Year” and has collaborated with such well-known musicians as Will.i.am, Linkin Park, Iggy Azalea and Fall Out Boy. He has more than 7 million followers on Twitter and 5.6 million on Instagram.
