Hublot Fuses Macho and Metro in Shanghai

By Seth Semilof July 27, 2012

England’s Manchester United football club and luxury watchmaker Hublot teamed up in China to beat childhood hunger last night, doing what was a first for the virile world of Premier League football: strutting their stuff on the catwalk.

Sir Alex Ferguson led his team team of aspiring models to Shanghai to show off a collection of Hublot watches as part of the joint charitable initiative between Hublot and Manchester United. Called “United for UNICEF”, the event saw a very special edition of Hublot’s King Power Red Devil – named after the football club’s mascot – up for auction to support the effort.

Tough guys take to the catwalk — Sir Alex Ferguson and his team.

Hublot’s Red Devil is best known for the integration of a blade of grass from Manchester United’s home field into the design. The organic green can be found on the watch’s index, below the numerals at every hour marker. The red and yellow theme matches the team’s insignia, as does the the red devil holding a pitchfork at the 3 o’clock position.

“We are very happy to be in China and to be able to bring such a fantastic fashion and charity event to Shanghai,” Ferguson said. “The money raised for the ‘United for UNICEF’ partnership is invaluable in protecting the lives of young people across the world, and we are pleased to be able to harness the power of our partnership with Hublot to help that cause.”

Team members who braved the cut-throat world of runway modeling included Rio Ferdinand, Javier Hernandez, Shinji Kagawa and Nick Powell. The theme of the night was fusion, as articulated by Loic Biver, Hublot’s Brand Manager for China.

“At Hublot, we pride ourselves on embodying the ‘Art of Fusion,’” Biver began, “which is perfectly demonstrated by our partnership with Manchester United.We both strongly believe in sharing and giving, so we hope that the footballing spirit of Manchester United, combined with the watchmaking expertise and the power of the Hublot brand, can open up unlimited possibilities for charitable initiatives.”

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