French cognac producer Hennessy revealed its latest cognac collection inspired by couture style and its own deep and rich history. Celebrating the maison’s powerful spirit of creating classic cognacs, the collection is created in collaboration with English artistic director, Kim Jones. The collaboration is the perfect illustration of the designer’s understanding of the brand’s heritage and high-end couture.
Joining Frank Gehry, Cai Guo-Qiang and Ridley Scott in celebrating the cultural and artistic resonance of Hennessy, the designer said, “I am fascinated by the heritage of Hennessy, a household name behind which artisans have spent hundreds of years creating this special cognac.”
For his first creation with Hennessy, Kim Jones merged technology with couture to design the Hennessy X.O Masterpiece using 3D printing technology. A titanium casing encapsulates the bottle, evoking both the couture technique of draping, and the way in which Hennessy bottles were carefully hand-wrapped in tissue paper at the turn of the 20th century to protect their labels.
The gradient of hues in the decanter was a very clever choice by the designer to evoke the shades of cognac. Using the same amber tones, he also extended his creative vision to a special fusil. Paying tribute to the brand’s oak barrels of the precious eaux de vie, the vessel is placed on an undulating oak plateau.
The limited edition is accompanied by shoes designed by Mr. Jones that are made in the LVMH shoe factory in Italy. Crafted with cognac-colored nubuck leather, the shoes take on a patina over time, a reference to Hennessy’s precious eaux-de-vie. 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 again evokes the barrels in which the eaux-de-vie are aged.
The 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.
