Kaws transforms street art into wristwear with Audemars Piguet collaboration

Brian Donnelly, known as Kaws, began his artistic journey in graffiti during the early 1990s in Manhattan, creatively disrupting advertising with his unique cartoon figures. Over the years, his work evolved from street art to larger-than-life sculptures and inflatables, gaining international recognition for both aesthetics and financial value at auction, with some pieces selling for eight figures. Now, Kaws has ventured into luxury timepieces through a partnership with the renowned Swiss watchmaker Audemars Piguet, producing a watch that incorporates his dystopian character, Companion, within its design. In this collaboration, the watchmakers faced initial challenges with the time-telling function but successfully created a novel solution—including an innovative track for indicating hours and minutes. This collaboration symbolizes not just the fusion of high art and high horology, but also the wider trend of avant-garde partnerships in the watch industry, showcasing how contemporary artists are bringing their visions to new platforms. Kaws's work represents a merging of his graffiti background with the precision of watchmaking, capturing his quest for new forms of artistic expression.