All images courtesy Moët & Chandon.
Whilst there is no definitive formula for creating the desirable, Yoon Ahn has proven time and again, that she is closer than most to cracking its enigmatic code. Better known by her sobriquet, Yoon Ambush, which amalgamates Ahn’s forename with the brand she set up with her husband, Verbal in 2008 — it is no exaggeration to say that she possesses both a metaphorical and perhaps even a quasi-literal Midas touch.
AMBUSH initially started as a jewellery brand, that by 2015 had grown into a fully-fledged, ready-to-wear, tour de force. Despite drawing influence from Tokyo’s Shibuya district, 1970s UK Punk, and Karlheinz Weinberger’s ‘Rebel Youth’, its bejewelled beginnings have always remained deeply distilled in its design language. Such is the potency of Ahn’s innate ability to create desirability, Kim Jones swiftly appointed her as Dior Men’s Director of Jewellery after taking the helm in 2018.
Collaboration is central to the AMBUSH universe, but it is a selective process that Ahn was keen to point is determined on the basis of “where we can learn something new”. Moët & Chandon are the latest collaborators to make their way into her star-studded Rolodex. To add some scale of context to the mutual admiration between the two, this collaboration makes Ahn the first person in 152 years to redesign its Impérial bottle. “I was thrilled to be given carte blanche”, Ahn marvelled, likening the design process to creating “a window into a future, filled with possibilities”. But beyond the “sharp, uncluttered…and very contemporary” layout of the bottle’s design, a wider context is key to understanding AMBUSH’s signature.
Luxury is undergoing a fundamental update which will, when completed, conceptually and practically have very little to do with the old, accepted views of luxury.
The presiding context of the last year has marked the lives of many with struggle, hardship and suffering. Ahn explains that this has informed not only “new aesthetics” but more importantly “a new understanding of what makes a luxury product”. In her view, luxury is undergoing a fundamental update which will, when completed, conceptually and practically have “very little to do with the old, accepted views of luxury”.
Intentionality will play an integral role in updating luxury’s social consciousness — as part of this collaboration, environmental considerations have been made because “preserving this planet and the natural habitat for all species is a hugely important consideration for today’s young generation”.
Per Ahn’s recommendation, the World Land Trust will receive support from Moët & Chandon in order to continue its international conservation work. A further feedback loop has been integrated into the collaboration which will see a portion of proceeds donated to help preserve the Canandé Reserve in the Ecuadorian Chocó. As one of the world’s most-threatened tropical forests containing some of the richest biodiversity in the Amazon, the two-fold impact of the collaboration looks to not only save “fragile species, but also combat one of the causes of climate change”.
The collaboration represents Ahn’s new blueprint for modern luxury—one where the consumers of tomorrow want to engage with desirable design that represents more than a fleeting splurge of indulgence. It will take a collective global effort, but Ahn optimistically sees the influence her role affords her: “there are no borders when you are a creative in a world that is interconnected”.
The Moët & Chandon x AMBUSH collaboration is available via Moët & Chandon as well as other selected retailers from 1 March 2021.