As I worked on Aston Martins, especially the DB7, Jaguar was on my radar. There was even talk that I would be going to Jaguar as Geoff Lawson’s No.2. While I was in the US, Geoff passed away. I received a call from a company offering me a job as Design Director, but I was unsure if I could handle such a big challenge. There was adventure in store for me, and I couldn't resist. It was 1999, and I'm still here.
How do you stay creative?
You need to be disruptive. You should be disruptive, because it shows that you're doing something new. Design is all about bringing order to chaos. But first, you need chaos. Turn it upside down, pare it down, and come up with a solution on many levels: aesthetic, functional and cost.Fake Watches I can imagine the same thing happening with a watch. A car is extremely complex. It's mind-blowing. The electrical system has four or three times the processing power of an Airbus. It's mind-blowing. People don't realize how complex a car really is. I don't have to do all of that processing but I must deal with how I present it to the customer.
In the watch industry, brand heritage is an important thing. Does the auto industry know about it?
Jaguar is often misunderstood and has a rich history. Many people think we are traditionalists but, if you go back to the brand's heyday, it was revolutionary. Jaguar was once a heritage company that looked too much backwards. But William Lyons, the founder, was never sentimental or traditional.
William Lyons and the Jaguar E-Type
Beauty and performance are obvious to me. The beauty speaks for itself, and by performance I do not just mean speed, but also agility and enjoyment. Lyons created sports cars as the ultimate statement of style. Style drove everything. I see purity and exaggeration,Rolex GMT-Master II Replica and Jaguars should always be exaggerated. Lyons' goal was to make people take a second look. Beauty is fine, but it's important to maintain interest by introducing a little discord. This is what I try to pass on.
