California-based apparel brand HUF recently unveiled their G-Shock collaboration timepiece. The GD400HUF-1 marks the first collab between both brands and in celebration of the launch XXL caught up with HUF founder Keith Hufnagel to speak on the partnership with G-Shock and special features on the watch.

Hufnagel, a former professional skater for the G-Shock brand, kept in touch with the powerhouse timepiece brand throughout the years, which eventually led to the collaboration. The popular streetwear brand has been known for classic collaborations with Nike, Black Scale, Thrasher and more. With the recent partnership with G-Shock, HUF enters the world of technology while staying true to their aesthetics with the design and presentation of the GD400HUF-1. The watch, which just released this month, features an all-over black colorway with a HUF logo etched on the back and on the LCD display. The watch includes a 48-city world time, five daily alarms, a stopwatch and a 24-hour time format. HUF incorporated its popular HUF Quake design all throughout the band of the watch. To celebrate the collaboration, HUF and G-Shock held a private party in Los Angeles at the Avalon with a special guest performance by the Diplomats.

Hufnagel spoke with XXL before the grand event on Wednesday to get the full details on the collaboration, upcoming HUF collections and more. —Roger Krastz

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XXL: How did the talks between you and G-Shock start for the collab?
Keith Hufnagel: I've always had a connection with G-Shock. I actually used to skate for them as an athlete and kind of during the brand time we just reconnected and started to talk about potentially doing a watch together. So they created it and I think it took almost a year and a half to actually get it done.

How involved were you in the creative process of the watch?
I was pretty involved in it. I was pretty much there for every step. You know, a lot of the designers were involved in it at the office as, but I was there during most if not all of the meetings.

What was the inspiration behind the watch?
For G-Shock, they told us that we were able to do something on the band, so we wanted to use an older pattern that we used in the past—which was the HUF Quake. We felt that was a really good look on the final product.

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Is there anything done differently on the packaging?
Yeah, the packaging is pretty much branded. It just has a circle H on it and it has a box with the Quake print on it and then when you push the button there's a HUF [logo] that lights up on the watch.

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In your opinion, how influential has G-Shock been to the streetwear culture?
I think it’s a staple that’s been around forever. They’ve done a lot of great collaborations in the past. They’re one of those type of watches that will always be apart of street culture.

How different is this G-Shock collaboration compared to the other collaborations G-Shock has done in the past?
We really just wanted to give it our own look. We wanted to give it this clean and classy look, which is all black. And then when you press the button it has a HUF light up, so you know, it’s nothing crazy, but it’s just a cool-simple looking watch which is reflection of HUF.

What should consumers expect later down the line from HUF?
Oh man, we're opening up a retail store in July on Fairfax. We have a Patrick Nagel collab coming out later this year and tons of little projects. Every season we have new stuff coming out and the goal is to open some retail doors and develop the brand.

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