Miyake: Worth Your Time

Issey Miyake’s watches have a certain cross-disciplinarian following: Each time a timepiece sees release, sophisticated style-trackers and serious design nerds alike suddenly feel the need to spruce up their wrists. After successful partnerships with industrial designer Harri Koshinen and experimental interior designer Tokujin Yoshioka, Miyake’s newest model has sent the blogosphere aflutter, coming from the mind of product-powerhouse Ross Lovegrove. Lovegrove frequently works for Kartell, Artemide and VitrA—claiming the prestigious Red Dot Design Award in 2005 for his work with the last.

The Hu watch has the type of minimalism typical technology-driven feel of Issey Miyake garments, and features just a simple hour-and-minute configuration. Who needs seconds, anyway? Named for a neologism, the shortened form of “human,” the piece is composed of titanium and features a rubber wristband. And it’s almost seamless, like a pat of liquid nitrogen, with metal encasing the face. Manufactured by Seiko (which does all of Miyake’s watches), it won’t hit stores until September, despite making a splash this Spring digitally. In the meantime, the design-savvy Miyake has released new versions of Japanese designer Naoto Fukasawa’s compass-like Trapezoid watch, which makes telling time as trendy as sneaker snobbery.