In an interview with Hodinkee, fashion designer Marina Hoermanseder discusses her latest watch collaboration with Rado and more.
When asked if there are any differences in working with people in fashion or watches respectively, Hoermanseder said, "In some ways, absolutely. But while they might think differently, our communication level was that of understanding how important a nanometer is. Not only inside the watch but also in the design. I got to work with people who understand my language of, 'no this rivet really needs to be a millimeter smaller because it changes the whole look.' It was also my job to say, 'I really didn't want this color and I want a rose shade, and not just any rose shade, this shade.' So we had to go through a lot of feedback, but in the end it was just the understanding of how important the small things are."
When asked about the lengthy design process, Hoermanseder said, "I went to Switzerland at the beginning of last year, right before the lockdown. And then everything took longer because of that, getting materials and such, it took about a year. Then there was me calling the headquarters, 'I was thinking we can go a millimeter smaller.' And everything had to be done again! But nothing is a coincidence, everything is very thought through and tried and redone. So it took a lot of time to make the perfect piece."
When asked about the reasoning behind choosing those three particular strap options, Hoermanseder said, "The Captain Cook is quite big. I know nowadays we're not talking about a female watch and a male watch because the trend is so unisex. But I knew from Rado that the Captain Cook is not a watch that women automatically opt for. You see it in a window, it looks big! So there is a barrier for a woman to just try it on. I want the colors not only of the metal but also the leather to be feminine, just to give this watch a feminine touch. With the wristband, if you don't feel like wearing a watch, you can just wear the wristband. So this mix-and-match was important for me because sometimes you just feel like a black, easy strap and on another day you might go full-on with the long rose strap. I like giving women these options on how to wear their watch each day."
Information originally sourced from Hodinkee.