We might be well into 2025 by now, but the time for gift-giving is already upon us yet again. With the first day of the Lunar New Year taking place on Jan 29, the rush to gather the best possible presents for visits to family, friends and even business partners has now returned.
If you’re on the hunt for something that mixes classic heritage with new-age modernity, Hennessy might have just the thing for you. To usher in the Year of the Snake, the French cognac house has unveiled three limited-edition bottle designs, created with Chinese fashion designer Shuting Qiu.
This marks Hennessy’s first collaboration with a female fashion designer and continues the brand’s tradition of partnering with artists to create new designs for the Lunar New Year. Previous iterations have seen it joining forces with Yang Yongliang and Yan Pei-Ming.
The collection
Shanghai-based Qiu started her eponymous label in 2018, after completing her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in fashion at the Royal Academy in Antwerp. She grew up in Hangzhou, a city known for its silks and jacquards, and spent her early years learning about textiles in this rich environment.
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“Hennessy has given me an opportunity to share my ideas and vision with the world, which is an incredible platform for me as a young Chinese designer,” says Qiu. Her vibrant, colourful aesthetic is on full display in the collection, with saturated tones seen across the designs. The limited-edition Paradis, for instance, comes in a sleek red bottle with an elegant snake design; a leather collar and glass stopper complete the look.
In the Hennessy X.O Chinese New Year 2025 Deluxe Edition, the matte satin-finish bottle goes from red to purple for a seasonally appropriate palette. Grapevine motifs — a nod to the fruit from which cognac is made — frame the central logo, while intricate floral patterns adorn the accompanying gift box, which is made from recyclable paper.
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For the Hennessy V.S.O.P, Qiu designed a red and yellow bottle in the same matte texture as its X.O counterpart. It comes with a patterned linen bag, covered in floral and snake patterns. “I think the V.S.O.P is quite young, active and loud,” says Qiu, adding that the vibrant pops of colour reflect not only the tones commonly associated with the Lunar New Year, but also her personal aesthetic when it comes to fashion.
‘Shared history’
Speaking to Options about the design process behind the collection, Qiu says she drew deeply from the imagery of snakes, particularly the way in which they shed their skin.
“I was also inspired by the history of Hennessy,” says Qiu, recounting how she researched the brand’s heritage, past designs and the cognac production process before settling on the final looks that she felt would reflect the brand’s story.
Hennessy CEO Laurent Boillot says Qiu’s designs “epitomise a harmonious fusion of tradition and contemporary flair”, for a “fitting homage” to the partners’ common heritage. He adds that partnerships such as this one with Qiu are part of the brand’s “long-lasting connection with Chinese culture, grounded in 164 years of shared history”.
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In Singapore, for instance, Hennessy put together a drone performance at the Padang to celebrate the Lunar New Year in 2024, with 500 drones sweeping across the city skyline in various formations. The brand also held a dragon-themed interactive pop-up at Changi Airport.
This year, besides the collaboration with Qiu, Hennessy is also launching two Lunar New Year experiences in ION Orchard: the travelling exhibition Crafted, by Hennessy and Hennessy Kinetic Spring Garden, a garden-themed display created with local artist Pei Li of PeiPer Studio.
A first for everything
The partnership was a first for Qiu. “When Hennessy first approached me, I was super excited to take on this project, because I had never done a collaboration with a cognac brand,” she shares. She adds that working on packaging, as opposed to apparel, gave her an opportunity to stretch her design muscles and bring her point of view to a new medium.
For 2025, Qiu is focused on continuing to grow her label. “It’s always a challenge for designers,” she says of the business side of things, adding that she has had to find the right balance between creativity and commerce over the years.
But finding success doesn’t seem to be an issue for the designer, who recently showed her spring/summer 2025 collection in Paris, following several seasons at Milan Fashion Week. “I’ll continue to do shows and presentations there, and some events in Shanghai,” she says.
In the meantime, Qiu will be hard at work, possibly with a glass of Hennessy in hand. “My family and I often drink Hennessy during Chinese New Year, and my friends drink it when we hang out,” she says. “It’s a great versatile drink, but my favourite way to drink it is simply over ice.”
