Vanguart / Warner Music BRIT Awards 2026

Key Highlights

• Vanguart joined Warner Music and Hennessy for a BRIT Awards 2026 weekend connecting London and Manchester.
• The programme opened on the British Pullman from Euston with Hennessy Paradis and signature cocktails.
• The Cut & Craft in Manchester was reimagined with a “Party Poodles” concept and club-style layout.
• Music came from G2, Kim Turnbull, Gjin Lipa with Tommy Gold, Groove Armada and Manchester collective Suns of Acid.
• Vanguart presented the Blackhole and Orb as an independent Haute Horlogerie voice in a cultural setting.

A BRIT Awards Weekend as a Journey

Warner Music and Hennessy framed BRIT Awards 2026 as a journey between London and Manchester, with Vanguart present as an independent Swiss manufacture. It opened at London’s Euston Station on the British Pullman, whose art-deco carriages welcomed guests from music and culture for a moving prelude to the ceremony.

In partnership with 1X, creators of NEO, Warner Music contrasted the vintage train with NEO humanoid robots dressed as bell boys greeting guests and later appearing on the red carpet, echoing Vanguart’s balance of Haute Horlogerie techniques and forward-looking design.

Across nine carriages, guests were served Hennessy Paradis and the Henny-Rita, while actor turned tarot reader Jaime Winstone offered predictions for the night, placing Vanguart’s watches in a relaxed, social environment.

Manchester and the “Party Poodles” Afterparty

The afterparty at The Cut & Craft in Manchester extended the journey in a nocturnal setting built around a “Party Poodles” concept. A five-metre-tall poodle installation, inspired by the film 24 Hour Party People and images of cultural figures with their dogs, referenced Manchester’s club legacy.

The soundtrack mixed established and emerging talent, with sets from G2, Kim Turnbull, Gjin Lipa with DJ partner Tommy Gold and Groove Armada. Downstairs, Manchester collective Suns of Acid hosted a basement club, providing an underground counterpoint to the upstairs celebration.

Hennessy cocktails, including the Henny-Rita and a Hennessy X.O Espresso Martini, were served against an illuminated bottle display, alongside Manchester-inspired canapés and guests from music, fashion and culture. The evening became the focal after-hours moment of the BRITs weekend, before a quieter British Pullman return to London for Sunday lunch with Hennessy Ice Teas.

Vanguart: Independent Vision in Haute Horlogerie

Within this programme, Vanguart positioned itself at the intersection of fine watchmaking and contemporary creativity, presenting the Vanguart Blackhole and Vanguart Orb to collectors and guests. “Great music and fine watchmaking are united by a shared foundation of discipline, creativity and an uncompromising pursuit of perfection,” noted Mehmet Koruturk, Chairman and Co-Founder of Vanguart.

Founded in 2017, Vanguart unites a leadership team with experience in finance and high watchmaking. Chairman and Co-Founder Mehmet Koruturk has a background in private equity and Formula 1, while CEO Axel Leuenberger and Chief Technical Officer Jérémy Freléchox draw on tenures at APRP, where they worked with Giulio Papi on complicated movements for maisons including Audemars Piguet, Richard Mille and Chanel.

Creative Director Thierry Fischer, a watch designer with contributions to several leading brands, completes the team. Vanguart’s debut piece, the Vanguart Blackhole, launched in 2019 and was followed by the Vanguart Orb in 2024, both centred on technical depth and experiential ways of engaging with time.

Why It Matters

For collectors in the GCC, Vanguart’s collaboration with Warner Music and Hennessy at the BRIT Awards 2026 shows an independent Swiss manufacture operating in a global cultural context. The brand’s APRP-honed technical expertise, complex watchmaking and alignment with contemporary music and art position it as a relevant name for those seeking finely crafted timepieces with a modern narrative.

GCC readers who follow independent Swiss watchmaking and culturally engaged collaborations can look to initiatives such as this to see how brands like Vanguart intend to speak to new audiences while remaining rooted in Haute Horlogerie.