TAG Heuer Appoints Alec Monopoly As Art Provocateur – and J.C. Biver Tells Us Why It’s Good For TAG
A few days ago, right from the Miami Contemporary Art week, TAG Heuer and its CEO, Jean-Claude Biver (also President of the LVMH Watch Division), announced the appointment of American street-artist Alec Monopoly as Art Provocateur for the Avant-Garde brand. Well, as you may have seen already (it was all over social medial feeds), some reacted quite fiercely to this announcement, judging the collaboration rather irrelevant. However, we were there and we took the time to sit down with Mister Biver and Alec Monopoly, to understand what was behind this appointment. And we can tell you that first, it’s far from being a stupid idea, then it’s a real first in the industry and finally, it’s a great idea for an industry that faces a lack of creativity.
‘Black’ is a term that has come to denote the best in luxury. Anyone who has either accidentally, and I’m looking at myself here, or intentionally ordered an Uber Black knows that to be true. Hublot’s All Black event, to mark 10 years since the first All Black model was released, and showcasing all the ensuing models in a glistening volcanic rock display centrepiece, did not challenge the modern logic that when it comes to luxury, and to taxis, black is better than platinum. Hublot has never done things by halves. When the brand chooses ambassadors, they choose the fittest, the fastest (of all time) and the foxiest (hello Bar, if you’re reading). When they present at Baselworld, it’s in a towering booth with eye-popping visuals cascading down every surface, crafty watch podiums that seem unprotected until you try swiping one, and a seemingly endless supply of Chairman Mr Biver’s homemade cheese inside. The same pattern holds for Hublot events, which in recent history have included a sunny day on Sydney Harbour, with the same Mr Biver and our very own Michael Clarke and an intimate night with one of the biggest soccer clubs in the world. As an opener, let’s just…