Hand-blown by Swedish glass artisans in Reijmyre, this is not your average ABSOLUT bottle. Limited to a run of 800, the stylized crystal decanter comes with two matching pinstriped tumblers and is sure to skew towards the higher end of the iconic vodka brand’s price range. Design aside, this is a nice attempt by a vodka category to reclaim a classic bartop accessory normally reserved for the likes of single malts and vintage reds.
British goth-chic designer Gareth Pugh has recently teamed up with ABSOLUT MODE EDITION to participate in a redesign of the iconic ABSOLUT bottle. Having served as a blank canvas for the likes of Andy Warhol, Kurt Wenner and Spike Lee, the Swedish brand’s bottle serves doubly as a container and a piece of art, especially when designed as special limited editions. For his turn at the trademark spirit, Pugh chose to evoke the realm of fashion by creating a bottle with twelve facets and wrapping it in a midnight blue silk cloth embroidered band. Available exclusively at Harvey Nichols and Selfridges, the distinctive ABSOLUT model is sure to be a collectors item for fashionistas and discerning drinkers alike.
Via my article on Hypebeast.
The ABSOLUT Vodka bottle’s kaleidoscopic range of iterations in print ads, short film pieces and throughout copious collaborations have made the liquor brand’s basic container a valuable asset and a veritable canvas for aspiring artists across the globe. Honing in on a marketing opportunity, ABSOLUT selected 18 creatives to get involved with ABSOLUT BLANK - a project that pretty self-explanatorily asks each participant to lend a visual makeover to a model of one of the brand’s standard, blank vodka bottles. The eclectic results include the intricate and surreal work of Good Wives and Warriors, energetic collage imagery from Mario Wagner, graphic design from Robert Mars and bright, geometric artwork from UVA, among others. Simply a great idea, ABSOLUT BLANK demonstrates how the venerable vodka brand has managed to once again leverage one of their most basic commodities - their bottle - as a trademark. It may not be tall, slender, glossy or frosted; but the ABSOLUT bottle makes for an ideal blank canvas for artists of all kinds. At the end of the day, that’s a lot more valuable than a luxurious or high-end perceived brand value. Art as commerce - Warhol would have been proud.
Check out more from ABSOLUT BLANK here.
