• 
• 

Published on January 21, 2008

Every year since the new millennium, French mineral water company Evian has been producing a new collection of special edition bottles. Usually designed by famous names, these exclusive items never fail to thrill the brand's loyal customers, according to Marut Chomphooteep, managing director for Danone Imported Water (Asia), who's been bringing Evian to Thailand for the last 14 years.

This year, the limited edition collection has particular appeal - it's designed by the high-end fashion house Christian Lacroix and features two versions. The pret-a-porter bottle is a clear, classically shaped European water bottle adorned with what Lacroix describes as "the flowers of success, those that adorn the 'paseo' parade capes, like snowy crystal garlands or frost-frozen alpine flowers".

This subtle embellishment is typically Lacroix - elegant, streamlined and perfect to dress every party table with just the right touch of chic and sophistication.

The haute-couture bottle, on the other hand, is a tribute to women and comes in the shape of an ice queen with a voluminous skirt. Lacroix describes it as "the silhouette of a princess, a goddess or a mythical creature, a sort of snow fairy in couture garb, crowned with flowers, bejewelled with crystals, wearing the familiar range of jagged peaks and ridges, like the flounces of crinoline".

Only 99 couture bottles have been produced worldwide and the only one in Thailand is on show at the Thailand Creative and Design Centre until the end of this month. All the bottles will be auctioned off for charity.

"I've imported around 4,000 pret-a-porter bottles, which are available at premium stores and supermarkets for Bt250. However, I'd advise anyone who might be interested in acquiring one to hurry, as I've heard that that stocks are running out," says Marut.

The first bottles of Lacroix Evian were spotted at the Christian Lacroix's Spring and Summer 2008 show in Paris, where they were placed on the seats of VIP attendees. Fastened to each bottle with elegant red ribbons was a note from Lacroix saying, "It seems that Evian natural spring water has been there all my life, I remember the curly label from my childhood in the hotels by the lake where our family used to spend holidays. Then came the streamlined graphics, like futuristic and timeless dresses of the '60s, and the small bottles you could find all over the world, the design bottles, collected every winter of that millennium. Like a foretelling, it is therefore as an amused and rather proud old friend that I designed these 2007-2008 bottles."

Lacroix is certainly not the only one with fond memories of this mineral water, which has been around for more than a century. Marut got to know Evian more than 20 years ago while studying for his master's degree in the US.

He recalls being puzzled as to why foreigners almost always asked for mineral water and avoided ice when they ordered soft drinks.

"Later I realised that as tourists come with their families or for a short period of time, it's not worth taking the risk of upsetting their stomachs by drinking tap water. They always look for a reliable brand of mineral water and that's why Evian always sells well in hotels," says Marut.

Marketing Evian in Thailand is challenging, he adds, as it's more than just a drinking water brand, it's also a way a life.

"It has both functional and emotional effects. The purity and benefits are incomparable. Each bottle contains natural spring water and goes through no artificial processes at all. Even the bottle is designed with a distinct character and is ecologically friendly."

Evian and fashion also make a happy couple with the mineral water a favourite among celebs and a regular "star" in Hollywood movies,

Marut adds that next year special bottle will be quite something as well, but declines to reveal the name of the designer.

"You'll just have to wait for next year," he grins.

Kupluthai Pungkanon

The Nation