Dezeen Magazine

Marc Newson designs limited-edition bottle for Hennessy X.O cognac

Dezeen promotion: industrial designer Marc Newson has put his own spin on Hennessy's X.O cognac bottle, creating a stripped-back version that features rippling ridges across its surface.

The renowned industrial designer was commissioned by Hennessy to come up with a bottle for its X.O cognac, a brandy that is aged for at least six years.

Hoping to simplify the design, Newson swapped the bottle's traditional grape and leaves motif for striations across its surface.

"My attempt was to make it more modern," said Newson. "As far as I am concerned, straight lines are a more modern interpretation of what was once there, which is to say grapes and vines and a more decorative application."

"When you strip away all the existing decoration, you're left with the basic form. It became obvious and necessary that some other form of decoration, albeit a more modern form of decoration, needed to be applied."

The lines, which create a corrugated effect on the bottle's surface, are designed to highlight the curved shape while "magnifying" the liquid inside.

"I wanted to magnify the bottle's contents, its colour and nuances," said Newson. "There's a wonderful fundamental shape to the Hennessy X.O bottle. All that's left to do is enhance its contents as much as I possibly could."

To accompany the limited-edition decanter, Newson also designed a clear transparent gift box in injected plastic, which is more typically used for perfume bottles.

This movie by Hennessy illustrates Newson's concept for the X.O cognac bottle

Newson has famously tried his hand at designing almost everything, including a range of colourful kitchen appliances, a limited-edition silver tea service with handles made from mammoth tusks and a set of pens for Montblanc.

Last year, he was announced as the designer of Claridge's annual Christmas tree along with long-time friend and Apple colleague Jony Ive. He was the ninth-ranked designer on Dezeen Hot List 2016.

Hennessy encourages Dezeen readers to drink responsibly.