Absolut and KAWS Turn Vodka Bottles Into Collectible Works of Art

Absolut’s artist collaborations stretch back to 1985, when Andy Warhol became the first artist commissioned to reinterpret its now-famous bottle, beginning a series that has since produced more than 850 works. Absolut Vodka’s collaboration with KAWS furthers that history with a bottle that is unmistakably his, wrapping his CHUM character around the clear glass so the figure appears to physically hold the label in place. 

The crossed-out eyes, cartoon yellow hands, and speckled blue surface pull directly from the artist’s language of street art, animation, and collectible characters, turning the bottle into an art object. 

At a time when limited-edition CPG packaging increasingly doubles as collectible culture, this one has an especially satisfying full-circle quality, bringing an artist with roots in graffiti and popular culture into an Absolut art tradition that began more than forty years ago.