The creative director of Roger Dubuis talks about his lifelong love of watches

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Alvaro Maggini studied fine arts and micro-typography in Basel, Switzerland. He was appointed creative director at McCann Erickson, Zurich, in 1997 and spearheaded numerous high-profile local and international ad campaigns. Maggini moved to Paris in 2003 and consulted for high-end fashion houses, including Chanel, Dior and Chantelle. He joined Roger Dubuis in 2011 as creative director and was instrumental in launching the brand’s new corporate identity.

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While his role at Roger Dubuis is Maggini’s first professional foray into the watchmaking industry, he grew up in the Swiss watchmaking hub of Lausanne, so the world of horology wasn’t entirely new to him. “Watches have always been part of my life and I love finely made timepieces,” he said. “I was asked to be different— to think outside the box—and instantly it became my dream job.”

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One of Maggini’s most brilliantly executed concepts was a campaign for the Hommage collection in 2014. At SIHH in Geneva that year, he created within Roger Dubuis’ booth a fanciful world inspired by the retro-futuristic Steampunk genre and the post-industrial era. The installation remains one of the most memorable the industry has seen.

This article was printed in the November 2016 issue of Hong Kong Tatler