Hennessy announced a collaboration with the world-renowned British fashion designer Kim Jones. A fusion of craftsmanship and savoir-faire in cognac and couture, the project brings together Hennessy X.O’s 150-year heritage with Kim Jones’ creative vision. The collaboration features an X.O Masterpiece decanter, a limited-edition bottle, and in a first for Hennessy, a sneaker. This is the first time Maison Hennessy has partnered with a fashion designer, and the designer collaborates with a spirits brand also for the first time.
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 technical sole in tonal grooved rubber features an imprint of cognac vines and the collection’s logo on its underside. The initials KJ and the Hennessy bras armé emblem can be seen on the heel. The underside of the rubber sole features an imprint of cognac grape vines and the Hennessy X.O x Kim Jones logo. The shoes are presented in an oak box that evokes the barrels in which the eaux-de-vie are aged, as even the packaging itself echoes the world of cognac. Priced at 650 euros, the HNY Low by Kim Jones will drop in March 2023 in partnership with HBX.
Utilizing 3D printing technology, Kim Jones creates “a piece of bespoke couture for a bottle.” and finished by hand, the sculptural Hennessy X.O Masterpiece has been produced in only 200 examples. The decanter demonstrates how humanity and technology can work together to create something unique, “like a piece of bespoke couture for a bottle,” the designer notes. Like a second skin, a titanium casing encapsulates the bottle, evoking both the couture technique of draping and the way in which Hennessey bottles were carefully hand-wrapped in tissue paper at the turn of the 20th century to protect their labels.
Its base, an undulating oak plateau, nods to the barrels used to age eaux-de-vie. The cognac can be extracted using the fusil designed by Kim Jones. 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. To serve this exceptional cognac without losing a drop, Kim Jones has also designed a special fusil in the same amber tones. The third and final element in the collaboration is the “ready-to-wear” version of the Hennessy X.O bottle, draped in an aluminum second skin to showcase the instantly recognizable silhouette.
To mark the launch of the collection, Hennessy X.O unveils The Fabric of Time, a campaign video that shows Kim Jones discovering the Hennessy X.O universe. Created by the French creative trio Bleu Désert, the video places the collection at the convergence of human and mechanical movement.