March 14, 2023 |
Kim Jones has hung up the design shears (momentarily) and turned his attention to the booze cabinet, as the creative polymath has joined forces with Hennessy X.O on a collaborative collection that “bridges street and luxury”. Somewhere between his two day jobs (Jones is both the artistic director of Dior Men’s and Fendi womenswear and couture), Jones has managed to create a limited edition Hennessy X.O bottle, which comes with that slick, luxe refinement that peppers his own collections. “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 Jones, who is the first fashion designer to collaborate with Maison Hennessy (vice versa, this is the first time Jones has stepped into the spirits world). “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.”
As part of the collaboration, Jones brought in his design expertise to craft a special edition HNY sneaker. In a rich, Hennessy brown hue, Jones recruited an LVMH-owned shoe factory in Italy to create a silhouette inspired by early basketball sneakers, equipped with a technical sole stamped with an imprint of cognac vines. The trainer borrows elements of its shape from the Hennessy X.O x Kim Jones Masterpiece decanter, which was designed by Jones, and built by a 3D printer, before being finished by hand in an LVMH atelier. With only 200 produced globally (each priced at a hefty £25,000), the decanter comes with a couture-level finish, fashioned from titanium which was twisted and shaped to form an elegant second skin to house the collaboratively-designed bottle. “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,” says Jones. “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.” Cheers to that.
Shop the Hennessy X.O x Kim Jones collection in store at Flannels London from March 27.
