Johnnie Walker Vault x Olivier Rousteing Shapes Rare Whiskies into Four Couture Expressions
May 2, 2025- Johnnie Walker Vault x Olivier Rousteing Couture Expressions Collection
What does it mean when whisky crosses into couture? This summer, Johnnie Walker answers with Vault x Olivier Rousteing, a rare, four-part collaboration where fashion, memory, and spirit collide.
Announced as the first “cultural partner” for the Johnnie Walker Vault, Rousteing, Balmain‘s Creative Director, pushes the whisky house into uncharted ground. Together with master blender Dr. Emma Walker, he crafts a collection of four seasonal blends, each anchored in rare, archival whiskies and bottled as objets d’art.
The “Couture Expression” limited edition shapes whisky like a fashion collection. Rousteing approached the project emotionally, tracing personal memories, seasons, and music into liquid form. Walker, drawing from a back catalog of 500 rare whiskies, blended the base layers with ghost malts: 1978 Port Ellen, 1977 Caledonian, 1985 Cragganmore.
Spring — floral, mineral, alive. A meditation on renewal, textured with rare Port Ellen and a 1985 Cragganmore.
Summer — tropical, bright, rich. A sun-drenched celebration, layered with experimental Cardhu Wine Cask Finish and a vibrant 1990 Clynelish.
Fall — smoky, reflective, bold. A pursuit of excellence, shaped by Teaninich chocolate malt and Port Ellen’s unmistakable smoke.
Winter — deep, sweet, contemplative. A return to home, family, warmth, the richest, built on Islay malts and mulled sweetness.
The blends, says Rousteing, “are like creating a beautiful jacket. Just a different kind of ingredients.”
Sculpting the Bottle
For Rousteing, the bottle mattered as much as the liquid. Inspired by the iconic square silhouette Alexander Walker designed in the late 1800s, Rousteing wrapped each Baccarat crystal decanter in metallic armor — gold, silver, rose gold, black — sculpted to reflect the season it holds. At the top, a winged stopper: his translation of the Johnnie Walker mantra ‘Keep Walking’, reimagined as ‘Keep Walking Until You Fly.’
“It’s about strength and perseverance,” Rousteing explains. “I wanted to create something structured, but soft. Something that feels like silk, but stands like armor. These bottles are pieces of art, a part of the Johnnie Walker legacy.”
For Rousteing, the phoenix symbolism runs deeper. Years after surviving a life-altering accident, he still looks upward. “Sometimes I feel like a phoenix rising from my own ashes,” he says. “This project holds all of that — the emotion, the memory, the rebirth.”
The Launch: A Night to Remember
The official launch is set to unfold in New York on May 3, two days before the Met Gala, with an intimate VIP dinner at the McKittrick Hotel, hosted by Rousteing and crafted with Bureau Betak and chef Yann Nury. The McKittrick, known for the now-shuttered immersive show Sleep No More, sets the stage for an evening that blurs art, fashion, and spirits.
“Having the Johnnie Walker launch on Saturday, the Met Gala on Monday — it’s a beautiful weekend I will remember forever,” Rousteing says. “And hopefully, 50 years from now, people will look at these bottles and remember this moment, too.”
Johnnie Walker Vault x Olivier Rousteing “Couture Expression” Whisky Collection
💰 Price: $20,000 per bottle
🌍 Release: 25 bottles per expression, worldwide
📅 Launch Date: May 26, 2025
🛍️ Pre-Launch Access: Available at Harrods starting May 5, 2025
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