Johnnie Walker has been delivering messages, love letters, nostalgia, and historical flavours for over 100 years, so you might think that they’d have conceived everything imaginable when it comes to digging into the depths of creative novelty. Wrong. Not only did they just put the whisky world on blast, they made a dent in the world of fashion, too.
Enter Couture Expression—the first drop in a two-part rendezvous between high fashion and fine whisky. This limited-edition collection of four bespoke blends takes its cues from the seasons, a sensorial motif that Johnnie Walker Master Blender Emma Walker returns to like a well-worn leather jacket.
Each bottle? Topped with a sculptural winged stopper that doesn’t just sit pretty—it soars. Olivier Rousteing’s take on the brand’s ‘Keep Walking’ mantra transforms the iconic striding man into something far more celestial. It’s daring. It’s dramatic. And it’s distinctly Rousteing—a creative fingerprint left on the Johnnie Walker Vault, propelling the world of whisky into something more daring, more couture, and unapologetically forward-looking.
“The first thing I do is ask about the seasons,” Walker says when discussing this seemingly random partnership between her and Olivier Rousteing. “What do you think of this? Where do I want to take it?” But most importantly: how do two creative minds, masters of their respective domains, work together?
“With ease,” Walker says. “It’s very much about going on this journey together. He gave me full freedom to be creative, to talk about my craft and what I do, and then in turn we were able to talk about what he does and what he wants to get across. What we want to do is time travel through each bottle and each glass. Whether something was made three years ago, a hundred years ago, or it’s been made today, everything tells a story.”
But what is most important when creating a whisky?
“You’re not creating it for you, you’re creating it for the consumer,” Walker says. “With the Johnnie Walker Vault, you really get to play with it and that makes everything so much easier. And because we did this in a partnership, I can step away and admire the final result with confidence.”
Never before has Johnnie Walker teamed up with a cultural landmark and figure of such magnitude, and for our sake, we hope they do again.
The official description of each seasonal bottle is as follows:
Spring: A celebration of renewal and transformation, Spring brings brightness drawn from a selection of rare whiskies including a 1985 Cragganmore, a rarely seen 1977 Caledonian and minerality from a treasured 1978 Port Ellen. Each Couture blend starts with a luxurious ‘heart’, featuring ghost whiskies from Brora and Port Dundas, highlighting the collection’s rarity.
Summer: An ode to sunshine, Summer oozes tropical fruit notes that come from a selection of rare whiskies including an experimental Cardhu Wine Cask Finish, and a 1990 Clynelish wrapped in the richness of 1988 Benrinnes. Each Couture blend starts with a luxurious ‘heart’, featuring ghost whiskies from Brora and Port Dundas, highlighting the collection’s rarity.
Fall: A feeling of self-reflection and the relentless pursuit of excellence, Fall has an experimental Teaninich malt, which is layered with smoke from the 1978 Port Ellen. Each Couture blend starts with a luxurious ‘heart’, featuring ghost whiskies from Brora and Port Dundas, highlighting the collection’s rarity.
Winter: Reflecting ‘coming home’ and the warmth of sharing time and moments with family and friends, this Winter is the richest of the four, dialling up Islay malts from Port Ellen and Brora with a mulled wine sweetness from the 1988 Benrinnes. Each Couture blend starts with a luxurious ‘heart’, featuring ghost whiskies from Brora and Port Dundas, highlighting the collection’s rarity.
This historical collaboration will culminate in the city that never sleeps, New York City, where Rousteing and Walker will unveil each of the four bottles to a selected group of VIP attendees.