Thom Browne's Samsung Smartwatch Brings Luxury Tech to New Heights
No stranger to tech collaborations, Thom Browne sets his sights on Samsung's Galaxy Watch4 Classic.
The designer, who previously partnered with Samsung on the Z Flip3 and Z Fold3, revamps the smartwatch with a rhodium-plated dial. Three interchangeable straps are branded with Browne's signature red, white, and blue stripes.
Set to release on Samsung's website on September 29, the limited-edition gadget is pre-loaded with five digital watch faces, also rendered in Browne's signature colors.
Much like the Apple Watch, the Galaxy Watch4 features health trackers that measure blood oxygen levels (a COVID-conscious addition), stress, water intake and sleep patterns. Somehow, the watch is also able to gauge wearers' skeletal muscle mass, metabolic rate, and body fat percentage.
The Galaxy Watch4 typically retails between $250 and $350 but, thanks to Browne's touch, the collaborative model will price at $800.
Pricing aside, the model lacks the tech-y feel that immediately identifies most smartwatches. Instead, the model appears, upon first glance, to be an analog timepiece, perhaps a plus for watch purists.
Browne's latest project is the latest in a string of high-end designers taking on collabs with mass-market watch brands.
Timex recently debuted a Judith Leiber partnership, the fruits of which are two Swarovski-encrusted watches priced in the $1,000s (a new high for the timepiece purveyor). Swatch also courted the fashion set with a sleek Supriya Lele team-up.
Only time will tell whether Thom Browne's Samsung Galaxy Watch4 catches on. At the moment, though, it's safe to say that fashion-tech crossovers never looked better.
