Local hipsters take time out to show off their ideas for Swatch watches
They're fun, plastic and practically disposable. We're not just talking about the new Swatch watches on exhibit at Festival Walk, but most of the celebrities present for the opening, too.
Clearly aiming at a younger crowd, the Swiss name is celebrating its 25th year and invited 25 local hipsters to design their version of a Swatch. The ideas weren't actually made into watches though, just blown-up displays hung at the Kowloon Tong mall.
Naturally, the idols caused a surge of high-pitched squeals and phone camera clicks. While teenyboppers like (from left) Kelvin Kwan Chor-yiu, Ken Hung Cheuk-lap, Charlene Choi Cheuk-yin, Michelle Wai Sze-ngai, Chau Pak-Ho and Juno Mak Chun-lung caused screams and security headaches, more accomplished folks like G.O.D.'s Douglas Young, designer William Tang tat-chi and photographer Graham Uden must have felt like neglected senior citizens ignored by the throng of fans.
'I'm the same age as the plastic Swatch watches. We are both celebrating our 25th birthday this year,' the Twins' Choi said. 'They're very cool because they launch so many different models every year.' Sounds like the same recipe for pop artists. 'My watch design's idea is called Fill in the Blanks, because I believe that life itself is a blank piece of paper. It needs us to fill it in with different things, experiences and objectives.' On the mall's stage on Tuesday afternoon, what got the most attention were one-page brochures.
