Spirit of the Horse: Fashion’s Robert Wun on Designing Johnnie Walker’s Lunar New Year Bottle

To celebrate the upcoming Year of the Horse, Johnnie Walker Blue Label partnered with Hong Kong–born, London-based haute couturier Robert Wun – the first Hong Kong designer on the Paris Haute Couture Calendar – for a limited edition release.

The collaboration celebrates two worlds of craftsmanship – rare whisky making and avant-garde couture – capturing the Horse’s spirit of optimism, strength, and forward momentum. Designed for both long-time collectors and a new generation of luxury consumers, the bottle reimagines Lunar New Year through a modern cultural lens.

In this interview with LBB’s Sunna Coleman, Robert takes us behind the scenes on applying his fashion skills to the iconic Blue Label bottle, the biggest creative challenge he encountered and why this project was especially close to his heart.

LBB> Tell us about the brief and what excited you most about this collaboration.

Robert> I’ve always admired the magic Johnnie Walker brings to its Lunar New Year editions, especially how they bridge cultures through design. As someone who travels constantly, I see these collaborations in airports and always think about how beautiful they are. So, when they approached me, I was excited to see how fashion could go beyond the runway and into a world like Scotch whisky – a world with such creativity and storytelling.

LBB> What was your ideation process like?

Robert> Research is always my first step. I began by imagining how we universally perceive the horse – wild, free, majestic, running against the wind. From there, I layered in the symbolic meaning of movement and spirituality, combining wind, motion and the Johnnie Walker Blue Label palette into a strong visual story. We refined the movement of the mane, the direction of the wind, and the way the artwork wrapped around the pack until everything felt perfectly choreographed.

LBB> How did you translate your surrealist, sculptural couture style into this collaboration?

Robert> For this project, I wanted to push beyond my own aesthetic and honour the deeper cultural meaning of Lunar New Year. As a Chinese person who has lived overseas for many years, it was important to approach it with both intimacy and modernity – avoiding clichés and instead capturing the soul of the celebration. That poetic, spiritual reinterpretation reflects how my brand has evolved.

LBB> What was it like collaborating with Johnnie Walker?

Robert> It truly felt like a creative partnership. We were aligned on the vision from the beginning and openly explored how to reimagine the majesty of the horse. For me, collaborating across disciplines is one of the joys of being a designer – stepping into a parallel universe and seeing what magic can be created together.

LBB> What were some of the challenges, and what learnings will you take forward?

Robert> One challenge was ensuring the horse remained visible and powerful from every angle, especially in photography. I can be quite stubborn about composition, so we refined the movement constantly: is it too busy? Is the wind right? Will it read instantly? But that’s also the beauty of a detailed, sculptural design. It reminded me how rewarding true refinement is.

LBB> What design detail do you love most from the final product?

Robert> The way the wind and mane move across the pack – that sweeping motion that carries the horse forward. It captures the spirit of ‘Keep Walking’ in a poetic, visual way.

LBB> Looking back, what are you most proud of?

Robert> That we created something beautiful and meaningful. It’s a modern interpretation of Lunar New Year that I believe speaks to younger generations while still honouring the traditions I grew up with.

LBB> Anything else we should know?

Robert> This collaboration is special to me because the Year of the Horse is tied to my family – my mum’s Zodiac is a horse. Knowing she would love this edition makes the project feel full-circle and deeply personal.