Hennessy Brings Graffiti to Life With Futura, Os Gemeos & KAWS Posted by Ru Porter on 08/20/13 | Filed under Art, Graffiti

Hennessy has always been deeply rooted in the hip-hop community. Way before R&B songstress K. Michelle released "V.S.O.P.", rap legends like Nas were "Represent"-ing back in ’94, and his loyalty to the brand landed him a job as Global Ambassador for the cognac’s “Wild Rabbit” campaign back in January. From a marketing standpoint, Hennessy, who prides themselves on artistry, has collaborated with several prominent graffiti artists including Futura, KAWS and most recently, Os Gêmeos, to produce special edition bottles for interested art enthusiasts, cognac connoisseurs and hip-hop fans alike. Take a look at Hennessy’s graffiti-inspired bottles over the years, as well as insight on how each idea came to fruition.

In 2011, the cognac brand partnered with KAWS – a New Jersey native most famously known for his animation skills on MTV’s "Daria" and Nickelodeon’s "Doug" in the late ’90s – to give their iconic label a facelift. The contemporary design features bright colors, as well as a signature KAWS trademark: a pair of large Xs featured in many of artist’s works—often used to replace the eyes of many cartoon characters. Another minor update on the VS bottles was the positioning of the grape leaves that normally appeared in the upper right corner, while its majestic hand-holding-an-axe has been moved to the left. Prior to that, the label had remained unchanged.



The second street-art collaboration came about in 2012; when Hennessy tapped Futura to create one of his abstract drawings derived from his unique airbrush techniques. Following the launch, Hennessy also partnered with the Pratt Institute, a leader in the study of art, design and architecture, to celebrate both organizations’ commitment to excellence and innovation. The program awarded eight international students the opportunity to participate in a competition with Futura as their mentor where they created original works of art that interpreted Hennessy through their chosen mediums, and as an incentive, Hennessy gave each student the chance to earn scholarships to jumpstart their career, including a trip to Paris, France.



The newest illustration comes in the form of Os Gêmeos – identical twin brothers and DJs from São Paulo – which depict a scene from their hometown. What’s so dope about Hennessy’s hip-hop-inspired brand partnerships – namely, the latest with Brazilian contemporary art duo Os Gêmeos, is that they’ve got this cool cross-promotional campaign where each of the 256,000 limited edition bottles are individually numbered with a special barcode that lets fans access specialized online content as they drink. So, for every bottle that’s purchased, one lucky hip-hop fan will be awarded access to a five-city U.S. tour date with performances by Nas, as well as an opportunity to meet the designers.



Cheers to bringing hip-hop to life through art.

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