Around 450 guests, including a handful of celebrities and AFL and NRL footballers, attended the event last Thursday where Bliss N Eso, Yo Mafia and DJ Krush entertained the crowd.
The collaboration with Bliss N Eso is the brand’s first partnering with the music industry in Australia and follows successful collaborations overseas with Kanye West, Spike Lee, the Wu-Tang Clan, Eric Haze, DC Shoes, Stussy, Bape and Astro Boy.
To mark the 30-year occasion, G-Shock released three commemorative and collaboration watch models (all in red and gold) – the Frogman GF-8230A, the Mudman G-9330A and the globally popular rounded design DW-6930A.
The Frogman features ISO 200m water resistance while the Mudman is dust-resistant and dirt-resistant, and has twin censors for compass bearing and temperature.
The back plates are engraved with a 30th anniversary logo designed by world-famous graphic designer Eric Haze.
The brand got its start 30 years ago when a Casio engineer decided to try to develop a watch that was virtually unbreakable. G-Shock watches are currently sold in around 2,000 outlets in Australia. The original model with shock-resistant construction – the DW-5000 – was released in 1983.
Casio has developed nearly 3,000 G-Shock models thus far, many of which were on display at the Melbourne event.
“To remain a youthful and innovative brand, G-Shock has continually aligned itself with the right artists and sportspeople,” said national sales and marketing manager of Shriro, Bruno Bouchet.
Shriro Australia is renowned for its association with the Casio lines including timepieces and calculators from the early 1980s.
Shriro is a privately-owned company based in Hong Kong with offices and subsidiaries in Hong Kong, China, Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam, Australia and New Zealand. It has 3,500 employees around the world with a turnover exceeding half a billion dollars.
“G-Shock in Australia will continue to collaborate and align itself with the most relevant and innovative artists and brands,” Bouchet continued.
“The anniversary party was a huge success for us. It was great to have our much-valued buyers and retailers mix with Melbourne’s who’s-who all whilst enjoying top-notch entertainment. The party reaffirmed what we’ve known for the past 30-years – that there is no shortage of passion for the G-Shock brand.
“Innovation is what keeps G-Shock on the wrists of millions of people every day. Just this year, the G-Shock Bluetooth was released in Australia … people are now able to be alerted about their calls, messages, emails and social media updates via their G-Shock.”
As part of the collaboration, members of Bliss N Eso will help develop their own G-Shock watch, which will be available as a limited edition (1,000 time pieces) in Australia probably by the end of the year.
“Next year we look forward to announcing a collaboration with an Australian-based fashion brand that has world-wide credibility … watch this space,” said Bouchet.
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