Lenny Kravitz has been going his own way for quite some time now, stepping into the public consciousness in a floppy hat and newly sprouted dreadlocks in 1989, the same year Spike Lee premiered Do the Right Thing and Bobby McFerrin’s “Don’t Worry Be Happy” was the number one jam. Ten albums later, Kravitz remains the living embodiment of rock-star attitude, even as he’s found creative outlet in films, design, and other ventures that have been every bit as impactful as his music. The LK 01, a new limited-edition (at only 55 pieces total, very limited) Rolex Daytona that Kravitz designed in collaboration with Les Artisans De Genéve, is only one of a host of recent design projects that include a furniture line, a custom vintage-style Leica camera, and interiors for boutique condos and hotels. Looking over his current to-do list you might legitimately wonder where and when a man with his hands in so many pots might find time to sleep, but the answer is simple: on his tour bus. “I’m not exactly sure where I am. I just woke up and all I see are plains,” Kravitz says when we connect by phone to discuss the latest creation to bear the name Kravitz Design. “But I’m headed to Cincinnati right now; I got a gig to do there.” On the road again proved to be the ideal context for our conversation about this seductive, very exclusive object, which nonetheless comes in a rugged-looking road case by Travel With Sound, complete with built-in JBL speaker. The watch itself is striking in high-contrast black and gold, set off with the signature red Daytona mark and equipped with a handmade strap in Barenia calf leather, in place of the customary gold bracelet. The first thing I think of when I look at this black and gold piece of metal and leather is rock star. Was that the intention? No, funnily enough. It’s just a reflection of my taste, right? I wanted it to be simple, utilitarian, and classic. But at the same time have some elegance and sophistication. I think it’s a good blend of all of those elements. I chose to put it on a leather strap, as opposed to a gold strap, say, because I like that sort of blend of high-low. This is a pretty bold design, but that leather strap might be the boldest choice you made, certainly the biggest departure from another Rolex of this type. It just looks as if it’s meant to go with a beat-up leather jacket. Exactly. Something you could [wear while you] drive your car, ride your motorcycle . . . go exploring, go hiking, whatever it is. I tend to blend black and gold a lot—or chocolate brown and gold—in a lot of things I design, even in interiors. The black and gold combination has that elegance, that sheen, [so] I wanted to ground it with the strap. And then that strap, the more you wear it and the more beat up it gets . . . the oil from your hand touching it, the oil from your wrist, begins to give a nice patina to the leather after time. So this is the kind of thing that is made to get better with age. As you wear it, you personalize it, just by wearing it and taking it out into the elements. I like when things get scratched up and they dull a little bit. The leather gets beaten. You know, whether it’s a watch, a camera, a car, the more you live with these things and use them, the more they become a part of you. Speaking of which, this seems to be very much a companion piece to the custom Leica that you designed recently, even down to the leather showing the traces of use; the Leica has a quality like that, the lenses have a similar sort of patina to them . . . It absolutely is a companion piece. And the Leica also has the worn-out spots where the brass is coming through the black paint. I like things that are glamorous and sophisticated to be . . . beaten down a little bit. It’s just something that I’ve always liked. Guitars, everything; the more they’re worn, the more beautiful they get. I understand you’re a watch collector; is that correct? I have a few. I used to have a bunch and I got . . . you know, there comes a time in life when you’ve got too much stuff! [laughs] So I downsized a lot. But I kept a few. I do have an old beat-up ’70s GMT Rolex that I love, that’s just worn and old. I’ve got an old Cartier watch that I love from Paris. I’ve got some old IWC watches. But I only have a few, like six or seven. At this point I don’t need anything else; sometimes I even give them away. Was there something about the Rolex Daytona model that you thought: This is what I want to riff off of. Or that speaks to exactly what you wanted to do? I mean, I like that whole Steve McQueen, Paul Newman vibe, you know? Driving a car, racing. And it was one that I did not have, so I was thinking, Okay, well, I’m going to design this for myself! That’s a watch I’ll wear for the rest of my life. I’ll beat it up and wear it for the next 50 years. Some of the design projects you take on seem very much an extension of your music—like the Sound Lounge you designed for the Kent here in New York. Designing an object like this seems to be a very different kind of project. Do you think of them as separate streams? No. It’s funny, they’re all the same to me, whether you’re making a song, a house, an interior, a piece of furniture, a watch, a camera . . . it’s all making something from nothing and creating a vibe. It’s a stream of creative consciousness, and for me it’s the same thing. There’s also a very direct music connection in the sense that the case has a built-in speaker . . . how do you ideally imagine that being used by the owner of this watch? When I would buy watches, they usually would come in big, beautiful boxes. Some are quite big; they’re normally heavy, they could be made of wood—and you end up stowing them away in a storage unit and you don’t see them again. You keep them, in case you sell the watch or you want to have the whole package. And I figured, Why make a box that I’m going to just throw in a closet and never see again? This way, it could be in your bathroom, your vanity. If you have a walk-in closet it can be on a shelf and while you’re getting dressed, while you’re brushing your teeth—whatever the hell you’re doing—you can play music on it. You’re involved in such a long list of creative stuff right now, maybe more than you ever have. Where does this fit in to the range of things you have on your plate? Well I’m not really on tour right now; I am just doing a couple of gigs, but I am finishing two albums, so the next two albums will be ready. I’m in production with making a film; I’m on Lee Daniels’s new TV show, Star; the firm [Kravitz Design] is designing a couple houses in Los Angeles; I’m working on a hotel in Toronto; we’re doing products, we’re doing furniture, we’re doing capsule collections for different brands . . . I mean it’s all over the place. It seems like I’m incredibly busy, and I am. But I love being able to switch mediums, make music one moment, design one moment, make a television appearance, go back in the studio . . . it’s really gratifying to be able to stay creating, yet keep changing the medium so you’re restimulating yourself and reinspiring yourself. Is there a mountain you have yet to climb, creatively? I kind of take it organically as it comes. But I really feel like I’m at the beginning of my career in all the mediums. I feel like the 26 years of music I’ve been making—that’s been an education, that’s now going to take me to the next plane. I feel that way with design; each thing I do makes me want to get better, study more, be more observant of things, push myself. I don’t know where I’m going, but I really feel like I’m at the beginning. Having my own hotel is something I really want to do in the near future. I spend my life in hotels; I love designing for them. I just feel like I could create a really great hotel. I’ve done hotels before, but I’d like to have my own hotel, under my name. It’s interesting that you say you’re at the beginning, because when I saw the image of you wearing the watch, honestly, the first thing I thought was, Is Lenny bring the dreads back? The dreads just coming in really feels like a stylistic rebirth, back to the moment when you were first in the public eye. Absolutely. You know what, I never thought of it that way . . . but I just felt it was time. And it is kind of a rebirth for me. I don’t know, it just happened; I just let it grow and it started happening, and I said, you know what, it’s time. This is how I feel.  

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