KAWS Puts CHUM on an Absolut Bottle, Joining Warhol's 40-Year Artist Lineup

A vodka bottle bearing KAWS's most recognizable symbol: the wide-eyed, X-marked CHUM character, flanked by his signature "XX" tag. This isn't the usual streetwear collab in the form of apparel or sneakers — it's the ABSOLUT KAWS Artist Edition, a limited bottle designed personally by KAWS, now open for pre-order and set to launch at select US retailers.

The back of the bottle features another piece — the original painting Absolut commissioned from KAWS, which served as the starting point for the entire design. It was ultimately reworked onto the back of the bottle, forming a complete visual pairing with the CHUM character and XX motif up front.

With this bottle, KAWS joins Absolut's artist lineup, which stretches back to 1985. That year, Andy Warhol created Absolut Warhol, the centerpiece of Absolut's first-ever art-driven ad campaign; Warhol then recommended Keith Haring for the next edition. According to brand materials, between 1985 and 2004, over 550 artists created more than 850 works for Absolut, a collection now housed at the Spritmuseum in Stockholm. But while those past works largely lived on ad pages, KAWS has taken the design directly onto the bottle itself.

"My goal is for art to meet people in unexpected places," KAWS said in a statement.

KAWS, whose real name is Brian Donnelly, grew up in New Jersey, tagging subway cars and billboards as a teenager before his work eventually made its way into galleries and museums. Now based in Brooklyn, he has exhibited at the Brooklyn Museum, London's Serpentine Gallery, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA), and the Andy Warhol Museum, among others.

The ABSOLUT KAWS Artist Edition is now open for pre-order and will later roll out at select US retailers. Exact release dates and pricing have not been disclosed.