Interview: Mega DJ Steve Aoki On His Collaboration With Bulgari

Steve Aoki is tireless. Indefatigable. Un-slow-downable. One of the most famous DJs in the world – even if you think you don’t know him, you’ve heard him – he was racking up over 200 shows a year pre-Covid. Along with packing dancefloors, he runs a charitable foundation, designs apparel, appears as a videogame character, and dishes up a proprietary herb-infused pizza . And now he’s got a watch with Bulgari. Though EDM may not be the soundtrack in your mind when you think of Bulgari, Aoki’s entrepreneurial spirit and wide-ranging creativity make him a fitting choice for a brand collaboration. His special edition of the Aluminum Watch is a balance of Bulgari’s technical know-how and Aoki’s excellent party skills. The signature feature is a Superluminova dial that lights up, perfect for waving around at your next festival in lieu of a glow stick (or finding your keys in the dark, if that’s more your style). If you’re interested in seeing the watch in action, as in literally on Steve Aoki’s wrist, you’re in luck! Bulgari is streaming a set from Aoki here at 11 AM EDT. Before his set we caught up with him over Zoom from his home (well, Tesla) in Las Vegas. You’re a watch collector. How did you get into it? I got into watches by being into collecting. If you ever come to my house, my house is like different compartments of my brain in different rooms. You get different collections. I don't collect one thing. I like multiple things and watches are one of them. But I first got into watches through my dad. He gave me my first watch when I graduated high school. My dad actually rarely gave me anything, so the fact that he gave me something was so special. That was the holy grail of what was important to me. It was a Rolex, but the value didn’t matter. When you're a kid, you don't have money, but as I started making money I wanted to get timepieces that vibed with what my dad gave to me. So I started collecting more and more watches. When you're a teenager and you receive a watch, you're like, ‘Wow, you must really trust me!’ Yeah, exactly, it's a big deal. It's this rite of passage. When I graduated high school, it was like: Okay, you need to grow up now, it's time to get responsible. Wearing a watch is symbolic, a reminder to be responsible and value time. When you're a kid, you're just reckless and learning how to live life, and then later a watch is a gesture of how time is not to be wasted. My dad was a workaholic work-ethic guy, optimizing as much of the day as possible. And that’s stayed with me through my life, no doubt about it. What was your process working with Bulgari like? The process was way more in depth than I thought it would be. I get really involved with all my collaborations, but I wasn't sure how this one would go because Bulgari is the highest-end collaboration I've done. So they set a different kind of bar for me. I'm glad they allowed me to really dive in with them. I met with their team in Japan and talked with the designers, then I flew to Milan and I met with the team there to go into even more detail. You've collaborated on a watch before. How did this experience differ? Bulgari is art. With certain brands, they get to the point of a legacy where they just never depreciate. I'm a collector; I collect physical art and I'm a NFT guy. Bulgari just has that premium. It goes up in value and it has a history and culture. And it takes a lot of time, and being masters of your work, to get there. They're just so high caliber, it's such an honor to be able to work with them at this level. Aside from your logo on the dial, what part of the watch would you say feels the most you ? I think one of the most important things that denotes who I am is nightlife. I thrive at night. My parties are live at night, my shows. So we wanted to make the watch something you wear when you go out and get active at night. That's what the Superluminova is all about. It's just that glowing pop. This watch feels very of this moment when we can finally gather together again. How does it feel to be launching something that's so rooted in collective experience right now? It’s about experience and hope and optimism and positivity and social connection. We are a social species; we're not meant to be isolated. We want to live our lives with other people, to share experiences and emotions together. And it doesn't actually have to be with someone you know, that's the other interesting thing. It can be with people you don't know. And the energy is so incredible. What a time – no pun intended – to drop something like this. That feeling of hope and optimism and connection with people. It never gets old. It's always new and fresh. This interview has been edited for clarity and brevity. The Bulgari Aluminum Steve Aoki Special Edition : 40mm aluminum case with titanium caseback and rubber bezel. White dial with Super-LumiNova. Water resistance to 100 meters. Automatic B77 movement with date and 42-hour power reserve (ETA 2892 base). Rubber bracelet with aluminum links. Price: $ 3,050. Find out more at bulgari.comThe Bulgari Aluminum Steve Aoki Special Edition is here for your wild summer.