Case Study Formes de Luxe 2025

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The Art of Creating the Formes de Luxe Cover

See how KURZ, H+M, and Sappi Europe united design and technology to redefine luxury finishing.

Formes de Luxe, published in English and French, is the leading magazine for luxury packaging. Issued four times a year as the print counterpart to Formes de Luxe.com, it showcases creative trends and visionary designs that define the world of premium packaging. Once again, LEONHARD KURZ had the privilege of designing the magazine’s Autumn 2025 cover – a highlight unveiled at LUXE PACK Monaco. The annual international trade fair is a meeting place for premium packaging manufacturers from around the world, who present innovative designs, high-quality digital products, and sustainable packaging solutions.

The result is an exquisite cover with a subtly sophisticated 3D finish, that was developed in cooperation with KURZ subsidiary Hinderer + Mühlich (H+M) and paper manufacturer Sappi Europe. Designed by KURZ's own design management for packaging and print, it beautifully demonstrates what happens when design vision, embellishment artistry, and stamping technology come together at the highest level, creating a cover that truly turns heads.

H+M

The KURZ subsidiary is a specialist in hot stamping tools for applications in the graphics and plastics industries.

H+M

Sappi Europe | Sappi

Sappi Europe operates 8 mills and 12 sales offices across Europe, producing premium woodfibre-based papers for packaging, graphics, labels, and specialty applications.

Sappi Europe | Sappi

Formes de Luxe.com

The online publication provides comprehensive reporting on developments in key global luxury markets through its international network of journalists.

Formes de Luxe.com

The Goal

Formes de Luxe stands for exceptional design and packaging that embody pure luxury and express an exquisite sense of lifestyle. Through in-depth reporting on the latest developments in the luxury sector, the magazine also offers valuable insight into the world of high-end brands.

For this year’s issue, the cover captures the essence of Haute Parfumerie – sophisticated, minimalist, and precious. Julia König, Senior Designer at KURZ, translated this theme into the fine art of hot stamping with effortless elegance. Crafted with an exquisite selection of materials from the KURZ portfolio, the result is a cover that feels both exclusive and refined.

“An iridescent gold ribbon flows across the front and back covers, sometimes bold, sometimes delicate, with a finely textured, tactile surface. Light and graceful, yet full of movement, its fluid form recalls the endless motion of a wave. The design invites touch: A dialogue of contrasts between smooth and structured, depth and subtlety, gloss and texture.”


Julia König, Senior Design Manager at KURZ

The Solution

The cover was once again produced by Gräfe Druckveredelung, a renowned specialist in print finishing with more than 90 years of expertise perfecting the art of refinement. It was printed on Sappi Magno Volume 300 g/m², a high-quality matte paper that combines a natural, uncoated feel with exceptional image brilliance. Its fine texture beautifully accentuates the subtle embellishments and intricate embossing details.

The design features the KURZ trend color LIGHT LINE® Iconic Brass 946060 – an iridescent gold tone that shimmers with a rainbow effect, revealing new facets from every angle. Blind embossing and tactile surface effects on the pure white substrate complete the luxurious interplay of paper, color, and die technology.

“LIGHT LINE® Iconic Brass creates a captivating play of light and color, revealing a new nuance from every angle. Combined with the clarity of crisp white paper, the golden hue evokes a timeless palette of elegance and luxury.”


Julia König, Senior Design Manager at KURZ

Using precision-crafted stamping tools from Hinderer + Mühlich (H+M), the cover was first printed in four colors, followed by flat embossing with LIGHT LINE® Iconic Brass 946060 on a Gietz Foil Commander. In a final step, all structures – including debossing, embossing, and micro-embossing – were blind imprinted to achieve exceptional depth and dimensional precision.

Why KURZ?

Creating the cover for Formes de Luxe required a holistic approach that combined visual sophistication with tactile depth through finishing solutions. This ambitious project was made possible by KURZ's high-quality finishing technology, combined with Hinderer + Mühlich's (H+M) precision embossing tools and Gräfe Druckveredelung's decades of craftsmanship. This unique collaboration resulted in a cover with flawless details and perfect deformation of the substrate, embodying the craftsmanship and technical excellence synonymous with KURZ.

“Magno Volume gave the Formes de Luxe cover the foundation it needed to truly shine. Its tactile surface, strength, and printability allowed every subtle detail—light, colour, embossing—to come alive exactly as intended. Seeing how beautifully the finishing interacted with the paper is a reminder of why choosing the right substrate matters. It looks simply stunning!”


Maxine Martin, Marketing & Sales Development Manager Sappi UK Sales Office Ltd | Sappi Europe

“With its organic shapes and subtle detailing, Kurz designed a cover that required a high level of embellishment expertise. The Formes de Luxe team was enthused when we first viewed the preliminary layout, but seeing the cover come to life in print was nothing short of extraordinary!”


Alissa Demorest, Editorial Director of Formes de Luxe

“A new creation by KURZ for Formes de Luxe: A new aesthetic and technical challenge that our team was thrilled to take on once again this year. The subtlety of the design, the purity of the lines, and the technological precision of KURZ came together to elevate the Formes de Luxe’s cover, unveiled at the prestigious LUXE PACK Monaco trade show. A great collaboration that perfectly reflects the common passion for innovation and excellence.”


Aliona Rondeau, Business Development Director of Formes de Luxe

“This cover shows what’s possible when the stamping tool mirrors the storytelling. Without any print, every nuance had to carry the full visual impact – from fine micro-embossing effects to deep debossing. Our H+M stamping dies balanced texture, reflection and relief in perfect harmony - so precisely that the result feels both technical and beautifully alive.”


Heike Martetschläger, Marketing & Design Manager at H+M

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