The Basquiat painting “In Italian,” a neo-expressionist work filled with gestural scribbles and stark images-faces, coins, dark creatures and cryptic words like “teeth” and “crown of thorns”-hung on one wall. Throughout the room were bottles of a limited-edition release culled from a 2015 Dom Perignon vintage with labels that mirrored Basquiat motifs, including his signature crown in yellow overlaid in a way to suggest a connection between the artist’s work and Dom Perignon’s own shield-shaped tag.
“I think people are looking for more than just the experience of consuming,” said Jacques Giraco, MD at Dom Perignon, speaking of his company’s decision to evoke the image of an artist synonymous with the gritty downtown scene in 1980s New York. “It becomes a total experience. It conjures emotion, and that creates a stronger link with the brand.”
The flirtation of art and alcohol isn’t new-think Andy Warhol and Absolut vodka in the 1980s-but it makes a lot of sense today, when many studies indicate that Gen Z is drinking less alcohol than previous generations. Moreover, a jittery economic landscape makes expensive wines and spirits feel like unnecessary splurges to many consumers. Partnerships like these give alcohol brands a fresh item to promote, but also, in the best circumstances, a way to impart a whiff of art world allure onto their tipples. A Basquiat could easily set you back many millions-$110.5 million, in one record-breaking 2017 auction-so a Basquiat-branded bottle of Dom, clocking in at $305, could be viewed as a downright steal.
“Younger consumers are just not engaging with alcohol as much,” said Marten Lodewijks, the president of the US division of IWSR, a data firm that tracks the alcohol beverage industry. “So there’s a much bigger effort to come up with hooks to bring them in.”
Qui Tequila recently worked with graffiti artist Brian Donnelly, better known by his nom d’art KAWS, on a series of three limited-edition labels in his bubble-shaped, anthropomorphized font. The bottles cost $1,000 each. Street artist Andre Saraiva contributed art to the packaging for a limited edition of Glenfiddich single malt Scotch, released in September and initially priced at $2,100.Other brand alliances are priced well into a startling five-figure range. Artist Daniel Arsham, for one, created a cast resin “time capsule” in which a bottle of Moet & Chandon was housed (and, at just 85 editions, costs $28,000 each). And Hennessy, the cognac brand, tapped sculptor Jean-Michel Othoniel for two decanters, one in Baccarat crystal encased in a gem-encrusted wooden receptacle, which costs 35,000 euros (about $38,000).”They don’t want to just be an alcohol brand,” Guy Wolfe, the head of insights for status spirits at IWSR, said, referring to high-end makers of wines and spirits. “They see themselves up there with fine art, with brands like Louis Vuitton, Chanel and Dior.”
For some brands, an association with art can be a point of differentiation. “The category is oversaturated with celebrity involvements,” Medhat Ibrahim, a founder of Qui Tequila, said of tequila’s popularity. “We wanted something that creates more value to the consumer who’s purchasing this product.”
“We’re delivering a piece of art, a beautifully designed bottle and an exceptional 25-year-old liquid,” Ibrahim said. NYT
