This year, there’s gotta be one trend that’s stands out: not following the trend. Yeah, the irony right? But it’s true — never has customising everything from bags to shoes to jackets been so popular, and hey even makeup palettes or facial serums are up for it too. While the skeptics among us may argue that it’s sharp arrival has something to do with the fatigue of “following the cool kids”, or simply brands hopping onto the bandwagon, we’d like to present a far more optimistic take: it’s really about embracing your individuality, doing you.
And that’s where you’ll find the swatch X you collection.
Yes, we’re talking about customising your watches, but this time, we’re eschewing the typical monogramming and iron-on patches for something else. While most customisation options are add-ons to a standard base, this time, we’re changing up the actual base. See, the classic Swatch watch is already an icon, so what has the innovative brand done to it? Left it entirely up to you! With the new collection, you can totally be your own designer by creating your own signature Swatch timepiece: simply choose from various watch heads, straps, loops and pins, in order to get your ideal watch.
Here’s a video that shows us how:
There’s clearly a lot we love about this. Swatch watches have long been a staple for their myriad of designs, watch faces and straps with a clear design ethos of immediately conveying the time, while still having loads of fun with wacky colours. And then, they’re known for pushing boundaries too, from the technical marvel of the world’s thinnest plastic watch with the SKIN, to the triumph of SISTEM51, which contains a world-first mechanical movement with only 51 components made entirely without manual labour. And now this, a watch concept that celebrates our uniqueness.
First, you select a Gent (34mm) or New Gent (41mm) case size, followed by a watch head. Then comes the silicone straps — there are plenty of options for both 12 o’clock (12H) and 6 o’clock (6H) style, from a solid mint green to racing stripes to nautical designs — before we close it off with a loop. Additionally, you may also add a pin or an extra loop, especially if you’re looking to have the watch mark an event (there’s a birthday cake, flying heart and even wedding bands).
At the event, we heard that the swatch X you collection was so popular that people were actually dropping by the store to ask about the launch! We know why though; after all, you’re getting all that Swiss-made satisfaction for a price of $90.
Of course, it’s also pretty hard to fathom all the possibilities of the watch at once, so we’ll help you along. The NYLON team went ahead to mix and match our favourite designs — according to our personalities — and let’s just say, we’re pretty stoked at the results. The process was simple, a matter of looking at the straps and watch faces and picking what we like best, before everything came assembled and ready to go. Here are our picks:
“If I had to describe my style, it would be minimalist, functional, everlasting; I’m at that point in my life where I believe I’ve figured out my style — what works for me and what doesn’t. And that doesn’t just include design, but also colour and brand. I’ve recently gone on a nostalgic spree with my accessories: I’ve just got myself a pair of Bata low-cut all-white shoes, a pair of Nike 97s in silver, and the new Altered Levi’s 501 jeans! These were my go-tos back in secondary school and junior college, and… so was a Swatch watch.
A Swatch was the it watch to wear back then, and it’s not surprising that the brand is still going strong today. I love the idea of the new swatch X you that lets me customise my own Swatch watch; and I’ve chosen a combination of black, white and navy, that would easily fit into my entire wardrobe and match all my things (as you can see).”
— Adele Chan, Editor-in-Chief
“I admit to being a millennial, hence you’ll see Glossier and Fenty Beauty in my everyday beauty stash, but you know, they all make rather aesthetically-pleasing flatlays don’t they? Along with some glorious avocado toast. Half-jokes aside, I’d describe my style as girly-meets-quirky — obviously my obsession with pastel things plays a huge part in the former, as do rose-tinted shades and jewellery, but I still like bold statement earrings, pairing my odd-shaped dress with lace-up boots or sneakers, or having fun with an array of lip colours, whether it’s a nude-pink or deep mauve.
Naturally, I leaned towards the more pastel selections when it came to selecting my swatch X you timepiece, and I’m glad with the way it turned out! The whites and pinks lean towards the sweet, but the dash of mint green and pops of bright pink numbers on the watch face made the design really stand out, and something I’d reach for everyday, even on one of my all-black attire days.”
— Amelia Tan, Associate Editor
“From the punk-inspired all black ensembles that practically turned me into an emo boy (I lived in those ripped skinnies), to comfortable billowy silhouettes and an appreciation for a muted colour palette — it’s safe to say there’s been a pretty distinct shift in my style over the past 5 years. While I still work around black essentials daily, there’s definitely no shortage of blue denim in my collection to pair my dark staples with. So, when asked to create a timepiece that reflected my sense of style, I went for the navy 12H strap and selected a matching oceanXyou head.
To compliment the white on blue watch dial, I completed it with the white 6H strap for an overall balance in colour aesthetic. White doesn’t make an appearance in my outfits very often, but the finished watch seems to blend in rather seamlessly with everything I put on. Not to mention, it wraps around the wrist comfortably all day with none of that clunky weight, which makes it a lovely addition to my wardrobe and lifestyle.”
— Jade Yeo, Writer
“It’s great that with the swatch X you collection, I’m able to customise a watch with my favourite colour combination of blue and pink. I chose a green loop to add that random pop of colour because the more colours I can play around with, the better really. When it comes to my personal style, I used to only go for the monochrome black and white look but I love playing around with fun colours and prints now as I feel like I’m able to express myself better.”
— Nurasyiqin Sedik, Media Executive
“I’m quite a happy-go-lucky, daytime-loving kind of person; so brightly coloured clothes and accessories always do the trick for me, especially those with funky patterns. That said; I believe a timepiece has to complement my somewhat random style of dressing, which is why I chose a solid blue base for the watchstrap, complete with a yellow loop for that necessary splash of sunny colour.”
— Joel Conceicao, Writer
“You’ll quickly notice that my watch has the most vibrant palette out of all the others, and that honestly surprised me. My daily wardrobe consists of muted, predominantly monochromatic colours, and I never experiment with loud prints or the like. The brightest thing on me is probably my hair. However, I do enjoy playing around with brightly-coloured makeup from time to time, like aquamarine eyeliner or bright red lips. That being said, I chose the design that appealed to me the most, primarily with the thought that a bright-hued accessory would give any drab mostly black outfit the splash of colour it needs.
Having said that, I do think it represents me well — the black watch face contrasts nicely with its vivid straps, which can barely be seen at first glance when worn unless you really notice it, much like the bursts of colour that I sometimes wear on my face. The items that I’ve chosen to accompany it were picked with a complimenting aesthetic in mind, but it also had to reflect me. In hindsight, I should’ve thrown in a pair of earphones and a mug of coffee, too. Oh well.”
— Patrene Mathieu, Designer
“Travelling the past couple of years has been a real eye-opener, being that less is truly more. My style is generally basic, consisting of pieces with clean lines that mainly involve denim and black, with a few statement items that can perfect any minimalist outfit. Choosing the blue and white colour combination for my watch preference was an obvious choice for me as it will go with everything in my wardrobe.”
— Eleni Kontorigas, Media Executive
swatch X you collection, from $90 for the Gent model and $114 for the New Gent. Special loops ate $4.80 each. Available at all Swatch stores and online at swatch.com. Show off your design by tagging #swatchXme on social media too!
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