Dior Designer Kim Jones Made a Hennessy Bottle—and a Sneaker to Go With It
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It’s late afternoon on one of those late-winter days in New York City: cold, calm, and the flattest of gray. In this, though, the atmosphere plays nicely with the cool-toned finishes of the Aman New York, where Kim Jones—the polymath creator in charge of Dior menswear and Fendi womenswear and couture—is sitting to discuss his newest collaboration with the cognac powerhouse Hennessy. Specifically, he’s connected with Hennessy X.O, an elite classification of the spirit that designates best-in-class taste and an aging process of at least ten years.
“It’s proper product design, which is something I haven’t really done before,” he says.
While product design may be a new discipline, Jones’ freshman outing has resulted in something rather lovely: A high-drama, ombré, bronze-to-silver carafe called the Masterpiece (of which only 200 will be made) that's accompanied by a matching fusil (pipette) for serving the cognac inside; a limited-edition bottle wrapped in a coppery second skin; and, perhaps surprisingly, a sneaker called the HNY Low, rendered in the same hue as cognac and made in Italy. These are all on display nearby. They add a bit of golden glow to the room.
“You know, I can see parallels from when I worked at Louis Vuitton, actually,” adds Jones. “There, it was all about a trunk and the trunk is such a set, iconic shape. This is about a set shape and a bottle.” With his forte being fashion design—mercurial and meant to move—the engineering and rigidity of this project required “lots of trial and error,” he says. “More than I thought we’d need, actually.”
The decanter, or fusil as Hennessy calls it, is 3D printed with pronounced flourish and flare. It’s gestural grandness is not dissimilar from some of the classical dressmaking examples Jones has shown at Fendi couture. (He has a penchant for art and creative thinking that emerged between 1900 and 1950). The designer cites perfume and cologne bottle designs and the “appeal of an archive” as his visual jumpoff: Earlier on in its 150-year legacy, Hennessy vessels were wrapped by hand with soft paper when transported. The same thinking informed the look of the limited-edition bottle, which boasts an aluminum second skin finished to look like a piece of cloth frozen in time. The shoes, while unexpected, are sleek and expensive-looking, an easy pick if you’re a die-hard Hennessy fan wanting to wear your tipple on your toes.
It’s an interesting product crossover for Jones. The collaboration is under his name, but it is not affiliated with Dior or Fendi (though Dior, Fendi, and Hennessy are all owned by the conglomerate, LVMH). His link-ups in fashion are revered—he’s the man who brought Supreme to Louis Vuitton, and who has made waves with Dior alliances including Hajime Sorayama, Cactus Jack, Raymond Pettibon, and KAWS. Can we expect more by way of design outside of his wheelhouse?
“There are a lot of things I'd like to do,” says Jones. “But I don't like to jinx stuff. I'm quite superstitious in that sense. [And if I did], I have friends that are very famous product designers, like Jony Ive [of Apple lore]. I’d definitely call and ask for advice!”
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