Mon dieu!

Je ne sais pas about everyone else, but the iconic Coca-Cola bouteille looks good in a Sonia Rykiel dress! True to form, Coke Light is clothed in the trademark gold, black, pink, crimson and saffron bands of the French couturier.

Nathalie Rykiel, Sonia Rykiel’s talented daughter, invites all Gallic citizens to vivez light this month, when these season-free aluminum bottles start selling. Now president and creative director of the Sonia Rykiel fashion house, she designed and signed these fashionable vessels.

For a limited run, these collector’s items are available first in Monoprix, then in Bon Marché; Colette has a crystal-festooned variant. Fashionistas are going to have a field day imbibing the drinks, which retail for 1.25 euro a pop.

Tout ceux-ci a été fait. Nathalie Rykiel is just the latest among designers to be approached by the beverage giant for limited edition bottles. Last July, just before Milan Fashion Week, fashion overlord Roberto Cavalli was tasked to prettify Diet Coke bottles. Cavalli embellished 300,000 bottles with three leopard and zebra prints.

In August, famous shutterbug Rankin reworked Coca-Cola glass bottles in time for the Beijing Summer Olympics. The British photographer swathed the bottles with an image of a hand passing a white rose to another, symbolizing the handover of the Olympics to London in 2012.

Still, Rankin steps on well-trodden grounds. Beforehand, Coca-Cola had approached shoe guru Manolo Blahnik as well as designers Jonathan Saunders, Gharani Strok, and Matthew Williamson for their takes on the iconic bottle. An entire era has passed too since the great Andy Warhol gamely made his interpretation of the bottle.

Rykiel’s creations mark the 20th anniversary of Coke Light and the 40th year of her mother’s fashion house.

“Queen of Knits” on high, a pregnant Sonia Rykiel shot to fame when she started tweaking with materials from her husband’s fashion boutique, inverting seams, and taking away hems. Relying on sheer instinct and non-existent fashion training, she hewed, among other maternity dresses, the Poor Boy Sweater, which eventually graced ELLE’s cover. Her clothes have since been worn by the likes of Sarah Jessica Parker, Diane Kruger, and Kirsten Dunst.

Collaborations have oft-proved to be fickle ventures for many. Whatever the ramifications of this little escapade, Sonia Rykiel would still be the toast of Paris’ fashion circuits. Coca-Cola, on the other hand, has little but to rest on its laurels, as can be expected of the world’s most distinguishable brand.

TV ads themed “Vivez light by Nathalie Rykiel” will start broadcasting next month.

Advertising Agency: Rosbeef!, Paris, France
Creative Director: Frans McCabe
Art Director: Antoine David
Photographer: Thomas Lagrange
Published: January 2009

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