We may be sweeter on whisky but we f****** love Absolut. Excuse the profanity, but it’s difficult to express just how taken up we are with the brand’s ethos without resorting to it. For over 30 years, they’ve championed the arts through a spirit of collaboration and not once has it ever appeared contrived. In that time, their art vault’s stowed away absolute (no pun intended?) gems which include creations by Andy Warhol, Jan Suadek, Rosemarie Trockel, Angus Fairhurst and Francesco Clemente, to name a few. Even the aesthetic of their Absolut Art Collection website is a delight to navigate. But it’s time to stop fawning and get to the point.
In 2007, the brand brought their ‘cities’ campaign to life with the launch of ABSOLUT® NEW ORLEANS moving onto others like Los Angeles in 2008 and Brooklyn in 2011. And the next one in this esteemed series of Limited Edition design is ABSOLUT INDIA. Their call for entry sounded some sort of war cry in designers across the subcontinent, too.
“This is the chance to be part of history and be part of the rich creative heritage of Absolut. You could design the first Limited edition of Absolut for India.”
Unsurprisingly, the quality of entries has been overwhelming. We’ve always known just how much talent is hidden in plain sight and this contest has done a world of good in bringing some of it to the forefront; and further into a more global conversation. This was our chance to take the world beyond the nauseating clichés and right into the belly of this beast we call home, and every finalist nailed the brief.
We shortlisted some of our favourite designs to simplify things for our readers so happy viewing and happier voting! Remember, if your vote wins, you’ll know you played a part every time you crack open a bottle.
I. Midnight Regal By Rohan Joglekar
II. Celebrating The Royal India By Saurabh Chandekar
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III. Absolut India. Absolut Enlightenment. By Shirin Johari
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IV. Absolut Bioscope: India In A Bottle By Broti Bhattacharya
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V. Absolut India - Different Strokes
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VI. Absolut Chaos By Gautam Gajbar
VII. Absolut Warli By Smiju TK
VIII. Absolut Mix By Kanickraj Samuel
IX. Food Of Royalty - The Absolut Maharaja Collection By Pulak Dey
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X. An Indian Tale By Unnikrishnan Manikoth
XII. Embracing Culture By Pushkar Thakur
