Tokyo Design Awards Silver Winner

2026 | Professional

Jack Daniel's x McLaren Halo MK1 Limited Edition

Entrant Company

Hunter Luxury

Category

Packaging Design - Brand Partnership / Collaborations

Client's Name

Brown-Forman

Country / Region

United Kingdom

Jack Daniel’s x McLaren Halo MK1 Limited Edition redefines packaging as a designed experience, where engineering, material and emotion are resolved into a single act of precision. Developed by Hunter Luxury in collaboration with Brown-Forman and McLaren Racing, it stands as a halo object, representing the highest expression of performance made physical.

Inspired by the Formula 1 Halo safety device, the design translates engineering logic directly into form. Protection becomes structure, balance becomes geometry, and clarity becomes restraint. A rigid aluminium framework holds a 1-litre bottle in exact suspension at its centre of mass, creating a poised equilibrium between tension and control.

At the centre of the experience is a concealed push button mechanism, integrated beneath McLaren branding. One press initiates a controlled release, allowing the bottle to disengage through a single, uninterrupted motion. The moment is deliberate, precise, and without excess, turning access into engineered ceremony.

The system is built from over 50 custom components, developed across eight material systems and eight specialised manufacturing processes. Aluminium defines structure. High performance polymers govern movement. Advanced surface treatments control finish and durability. Carbon fibre effect detailing and Alcantara inspired linings extend the system into tactile presence. Every element carries intent.

More than 20 iterative prototypes, developed through SLA, FDM and DMLS processes, alongside CAD iterations refining the overall structure and mechanism, refined alignment, motion and acoustic response. The mechanism was evaluated through digital motion studies before physical prototyping validated performance. Mechanical resonance was removed until only controlled movement remained.

Protection is not applied but embedded. A rigid aluminium exoskeleton absorbs and distributes force, while an internal cradle locks the bottle at its centre of mass, isolating it from vibration. The mechanism remains fully secured throughout transit, preserving integrity from production to reveal.

Delivered in 13 months from concept to production, Halo MK1 demonstrates a new standard for engineered luxury objects.

It does not contain the product. It completes it.

Credits

Brown-Forman
Sam Gardner
McLaren Racing
Hunter Luxury
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