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UK – Hennessy X.O collaborates with fashion designer Kim Jones

Where Cognac meets Couture

3 mins read

Hennessy X Kim Jones

In a first for the Maison, the acclaimed British Artistic Director Kim Jones transcends couture and Cognac in a special collection featuring a collectible sneaker, Masterpiece decanter, and Limited-Edition bottle.

The collaboration features the Hennessy X.O Masterpiece designed by Kim Jones, the Hennessy X.O Limited Edition bottle by Kim Jones, and in a first for the brand, the collectible sneaker HNY Low by Kim Jones. This also marks the first time Maison Hennessy has partnered with a fashion designer, and that Kim Jones collaborates with a spirits brand.

“We are thrilled to embark on a new odyssey blending cognac-making and couture with Kim Jones, a creative master of our time,” said Laurent Boillot, Hennessy CEO. “Inspired by the emblematic personality of Hennessy X.O, Kim has developed a resolutely contemporary collection that is destined to make an impact on culture today and in the future.”

Designer Kim Jones

For Hennessy X.O, Kim Jones pays tribute to cognac-making and couture, two processes of artisanal craftsmanship and savoir-faire, in the lineage of great masters who have helped cement Hennessy X.O’s cultural resonance over the years, including Frank Gehry, Cai Guo-Qiang and Ridley Scott.

“I’m fascinated by the rich heritage of Hennessy, a household name behind which artisans have spent hundreds of years creating this special cognac,” says Kim Jones. “Storytelling is very important for me regardless of what I’m designing or who I’m collaborating with – I want my designs to educate and inspire people through the stories they tell.”

 

The Shoe – HNY Low by Kim Jones

HNY Low by Kim Jones

Designed by Kim Jones and crafted in an LVMH-owned shoe factory in Italy, the limited edition HNY Low by Kim Jones is inspired by early basketball shoes. It is made of a light cognac-colored nubuck leather, a material that takes on the patina of time, a reference to the precious eaux-de-vie.

Contrasting with the classic upper, a technical sole in tonal grooved rubber features an imprint of cognac vines and the Hennessy X.O x Kim Jones logo on its underside, while the initials KJ and the Hennessy bras armé emblem discreetly adorn the heel.

“I wanted it to be elevated and chic, to reflect both the long heritage of cognac and my own design values,” says the designer, who also transposed the curves of the Hennessy X.O bottle onto the sneaker. “I wanted it to feel like you’re almost looking into the bottle. It’s a glass of cognac in sneaker form.”

HNY Low by Kim Jones

True to the sneakerhead aesthetic, Kim Jones made packaging a part of the overall experience. Each pair of HNY Low by Kim Jones comes sheathed in cotton dust bags bound by a high-end drawstring, a shape recalling bottles that used to be wrapped in thick paper during travel. The sneakers are presented in an oak box that revisits the barrels used to age the eaux-de-vie, its wavy top echoing the plateau for the Hennessy X.O Masterpiece designed by Kim Jones.

Retailing at a suggested price of € 650, the HNY Low by Kim Jones will drop in March 2023 in partnership with HBX as the global exclusive online retail partner, and in selected retail spaces.

The Hennessy X.O Masterpiece and Limited Edition Designed By Kim Jones

Hennessy X.O Masterpiece

Designed exclusively for Hennessy by Kim Jones, produced using 3D printing technology, and finished by hand, the sculptural Hennessy X.O Masterpiece has been produced in only 200 examples. The decanter is “like a piece of bespoke couture for a bottle,” the designer notes. A specially developed titanium casing entirely encapsulates the bottle like an architectural second skin. Its twisting folds evoke both the couture technique of draping and the way in which, at the turn of the 20th century, Hennessy bottles were carefully hand enveloped in tissue paper as a way of protecting their fragile parchment paper labels. Its base, an undulating oak plateau, nods to the barrels used to age eaux-de-vie that would eventually be blended to create Hennessy X.O.

While the bottle is entirely obscured from view, the cognac can be extracted using the fusil designed by Kim Jones. As a finishing touch, the decanter itself has been dipped in gradient colors, an effect inspired by the shades of the different eaux-de-vie selected by the Master Blender to compose Hennessy X.O.

Says Kim Jones: “When I saw how the vintage Hennessy bottles were wrapped, it spoke volumes to me about how precious each one is, and how they were handled. I was particularly touched by their history, and the sense of how generations have dedicated their time to making each step of the process better and better. That same process also holds true with fashion.”

Hennessy X.O Limited Edition

The third element of the collaboration is the Hennessy X.O Limited Edition ‘ready-to-wear’ version of the decanter specially imagined by Kim Jones. The Hennessy X.O bottle is encased in an aluminum second skin, its structure showcasing the signature shape of the bottle while evoking a couture silhouette.

The Fabric of Time and collection items will be displayed in select global retail locations, each evoking the futuristic elements of the collaboration and video through interactive content and experiences.

 

 

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