Over two decades of some of electronic music’s most memorable songs and live performances have come courtesy of the legendary duo Daft Punk, who announced their shocking split in early 2021. The iconic robots inspired many musicians in their craft, but their influence spreads far beyond music and into different facets of art and culture.
One such instance of that inspiration came to Arnaud Chastaingt, director of Chanel’s Watchmaking Creation Studio, who channeled the storied career of Daft Punk for his latest collection, Chanel Electro. A bit of a maverick force at Chanel, Chastaingt sought to give the J12’s 20th anniversary collection quite the makeover.
The Daft Punk-inspired J12 Chanel Electro watch in black.
Chanel Watchmaking Creation Studio
Splashing Chanel’s classic J12 watch with vibrant, neon sapphire bezel and hour marker pieces undoubtedly inspired by the helmet of Daft Punk’s Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo, Chastaingt took some artistic liberty with the otherwise black and white colorways Chanel is so well known for.
“Chanel is a house of black and white,” Chastaingt told The Telegraph. But his collection was created with the intention of emulating what he calls the “universe of night,” with the effervescent rainbow sapphire seemingly springing to life out of the matte black and white ceramic J12 Electro models.
The Daft Punk-inspired J12 Chanel Electro watch in silver.
Chanel Watchmaking Creation Studio
Chastaingt credits the works of long time Daft Punk manager and Ed Banger Records figure Busy P as a major part of the inspiration behind the new collection’s concept, but it’s evident that the creator of the duo’s iconic robot helmets, Tony Gardner, surely played a role as well. However, French electro music and culture made the biggest impact on Chastaingt, and truly brought the pieces to life.
“I conceived this capsule collection like a performance programme,” Chastaingt said, “inviting our classics to take turns on this stage and draw inspiration from the codes of this world.”
