Absolut Vodka launches China collaboration with fashion designer Samuel Ross

Absolut Vodka has teamed up with British fashion designer and artist Dr Samuel Ross to launch a limited-edition bottle for the Chinese market.

The collaboration project, Absolut x SR_A, created in collaboration with South London-born designer Dr Samuel Ross, aims to champion the mixing of cultures, Absolut Vodka has said.

Absolut’s new limited-edition bottle is embossed with a heatmap design of China’s largest cities. The dots and silhouettes have been designed in red, which symbolises life, vitality and light in Chinese tradition.

There are just 1,350 bottles available for the limited-edition release, with each 1L bottle available now through the brand’s WeChat mini-programme, Absolut Lab.

According to the brand, Ross is a growing name in China’s creative and fashion scene. The British designer launched his A-COLD-WALL menswear stores in Beijing and Shanghai in 2022, and the fashion brand takes inspiration from industrial design and material innovation.

Ross said of the new launch: “I have always respected and loved Absolut’s viewpoint and how the brand conveys a unique message. In terms of colour, typography and bottle design, it is formidable. There is also an intensity and richness and joy for the brand to unlock. An opportunity to add layers to the strong identity, to tell a different story – without changing it, providing a new window to the brand for every demographic.”

Tad Greenough, global chief creative officer for The Absolut Company, said: “We want to champion the coming together of different cultures in cities that harbour inclusion and diversity. We believe that when we mix we create better together and we’ve been partnering with artists and creative communities for 40 years to bring this message to the forefront. It was natural for us to work with Samuel Ross in a collaboration that brings together his industrial, London-inspired aesthetic to a Chinese context.”