SLAWN TEASES UPCOMING COLLABORATION WITH ROLEX

Nigerian-born, London-based creative Olaolu Akeredolu-Ale, more commonly known as Slawn, has teased an upcoming collaboration with Rolex.

With an established client base filled with names such as Beyoncé, Skepta and the late Virgil Abloh, Slawn – who designed the 2023 Brit Award – made the announcement to his 276k Instagram followers this past weekend, and it’s safe to say we didn’t see this one coming.

The teaser video displayed Rolex’s staple Datejust model reimagined through Slawn’s instantly recognisable, caricature-like artwork, accompanied by a voice over from rapper Lil Yatchy. 

“CUSTOM SLAWN DIAL, AMEN” captioned the post. 

Limited to 10 models only, the Slawn Rolex collaboration will be released June 25, 2024.

This is not the first time we’ve seen the fine artist venture into the world of fashion, producing a sell out collaboration with Rimowa in March alongside having featured in a series of campaigns for the likes of Burberry and Aime Leon Dore. 

Freelance creative and casting assistant, Poppy Curley Smith, who worked with Slawn for the Aime Leon Dore campaign says, “I feel his career has grown exponentially, with reach to his audience and his collaborations getting bigger and bigger. He has been able to bring music and fashion into his art space.”

Away from breaking into high fashion, the artist’s efforts fall into The Slawn Club, a parody brand setting its own identity away from his art. Amy Leung, Slawn’s personal and studio assistant says, “I think it’s interesting working with The Slawn Club as not many people at the moment are doing a parody brand. Mischief and Balenciaga are tapping into this ironic style of producing fashion now, but I don’t think there’s anything accessible – being accessible is a prevalent part of his brand.”

“I would say Slawn has now been able to create his own creative scene with the company he keeps and his following – it spans across many disciplines,” says Curley Smith. 

To stay up to date with future Slawn releases, subscribe to his website here.

Image courtesy of @olaoluslawn on Instagram.