Future needs origin. The retro futuristic STOWA flyer.
"In addition to modern products in a new and often boring form, such as smartphones, there are also objects with a traditional story, such as ocean ships, cars and even flyers, which emotionally appeal to us through their visual familiarity. On the other hand, innovations and new customer requirements require modernization and thus new ways of design. The art is that to balance the familiar with the new.
When Disney asked me about 20 years ago to design innovative cruise ships for families, we found out that the kids liked the futuristic Star Trek, but the parents liked the classic ocean liners like Normandy or France. I combined both - classic lines with a wide bow and sloping tail, as well as the commando bridge in the style of a space ship - and called the resulting design retro-futuristic, a now established term-
In the case of the new STOWA FLIEGERUHR - an uncompromising professional timekeeping instrument, I combined a classic case with a bionically designed bezel with Jörg Schauer: two sinusoidal curves combined in a 90 degree angle create ergonomically perfect shape transitions that meet both the high requirements (Eg Testaf or DIN) after safe use with gloves, as well as the avant-garde stylistics of a Boeing Dreamliner.
Such a complex form is not feasible without computer-assisted manufacture. In addition, there is an innovation of the dial: we have replaced the classic triangle display of the 12 by an open A, whereby the minute hand closes the triangle visually precisely in the middle at 60 minutes. In the sense of Odo Marquart's future needs, the STOWA FLIEGER PROFESSIONAL is a logical step forward. "
Hartmut Esslinger, March 2016
