In a first for the Maison, the acclaimed fashion designer Kim Jones transcends Couture and Cognac in a special collection for Hennessy X.O featuring a collectible sneaker, Masterpiece decanter, and Limited Edition bottle.
Hennessy announced a collaboration with the world-renowned British Artistic Director Kim Jones. In an audacious meeting of two icons, the Hennessy X.O x Kim Jones collection bridges street and luxury in a unique celebration of the legendary blend’s impact on culture.
Interweaving the richness of Hennessy X.O’s 150-year heritage with Kim Jones’ creative vision, 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 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.
He added, “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.”
For Hennessy X.O, Kim Jones pays tribute to cognac-making and couture, two processes that touch on an understanding of science and the natural world as well as artisanal craftsmanship and savoir-faire. He follows in the footsteps of a formidable 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.”
HNY Low by Kim Jones: a unique limited edition fashion item
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.”
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 a 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.
Where Cognac meets Couture: the Hennessy X.O masterpiece and Hennessy X.O Limited Edition designed by Kim Jones
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 demonstrates how humanity and technology can work together to create something unique, “like a piece of bespoke couture for a bottle,” the designer notes.
The Hennessy X.O Masterpiece draws inspiration from the making of Hennessy X.O, an art perfected by eight generations of Master Blenders.
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, an elegant and playful ritual to serve a glass of the Hennessy X.O blend. 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.”
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. A true representation of the merger of fashion and culture with excellence and legacy, the limited edition bottle is the final piece of the partnership.
“THE FABRIC OF TIME”: A UNIQUE VIDEO UNVEILING BY BLEU DÉSERT
In time for the collection launch, Hennessy X.O unveils The Fabric of Time, a campaign video featuring a cameo of Kim Jones as he steps into the Hennessy X-O universe. Created by French creative trio Bleu Désert, the video places the collection at the convergence of human and mechanical movement.
Through the artistic mind of Kim Jones, the piece introduces a strange futuristic environment, halfway between a distillery and an haute couture atelier. An elusive robot takes the viewer through the space, slowly uncovering the inspiration behind the poetic details of The Fabric of Time as it passes next to an imposing mechanical alembic system. As the robot enters the main room, the Hennessy X.O Masterpiece designed by Kim Jones is revealed under the concealed watchful eye of the designer.
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.
ABOUT KIM JONES
Kim Jones was born in London but at three months old he was already heading with his family to Ecuador. An itinerant childhood followed, including stays throughout Africa (Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, and Botswana) and the Caribbean, with frequent stops back home in London. By the age of fourteen, Jones knew he wanted a creative career and he considered graphics and photography before discovering that fashion was: “something I could build a world around.”
Jones attended London’s prestigious Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design where he obtained an MA in Menswear. His graduation show was covered extensively by the press which convinced him to launch his eponymous brand and the first collection was presented at London Fashion week in 2003.
A stint as a designer for British high-street sportswear brand Umbro followed. This was the first time a cutting-edge young designer took on a mass menswear brand in the UK and the collaboration was very well received.
Kim Jones followed with design for Britain’s Topman, Mulberry, Alexander McQueen, Alfred Dunhill, and others, where he injected his own vibrant mix of high fashion and street style into classic English menswear.
Jones joined Louis Vuitton in 2011 as Men’s Artistic Director and presented his last collection in January 2018. In March 2018, Jones is appointed as Artistic Director of Dior for the Men’s Ready-to-Wear and Accessory Collections. His first collection was presented in June 2018, during the Paris Men’s Fashion Week.
In September 2020 Kim Jones is appointed Artistic Director of Couture and Womenswear for FENDI and his debut collection, Couture Spring/Summer 2021, was presented in Paris in January 2021.
ABOUT HENNESSY
A leader in Cognac, the Maison Hennessy has shone around the world with its exceptional know-how for more than 250 years.
Built on founder Richard Hennessy’s spirit of conquest, the brand is present in more than 160 countries.
Based in the heart of the Charente region, it is also a steadfast pillar of the regional economy.
The Maison’s success and longevity are rooted in the excellence of its cognacs, each of which is born of a unique process of transmission of know-how from generation to generation. The first spirits Maison to be certified ISO 14001, the brand unites its capacity for innovation and the support of all of its partners to protect this exceptional area.
As a crown jewel of the LVMH Group, Hennessy is a major contributor to French international trade, with 99% of production sold in export, and a worldwide ambassador for the French art de vivre.
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