You can send your love through a Whatsapp message, a tag on a meme, an actual postcard, or even a precious gift; but rarely do we use, or even recall, the romantic embodiment of a handkerchief.
Handkerchiefs are often understood as a sign of socio-economical status, a prop during ritual dances, a personal hygiene item, or just a pure fashion statement – but, did you know that French soldiers used to keep the handkerchief of their loved ones underneath their helmet as a token of love?
A modernized take on the traditional medium, Bob Foundation from Tokyo, formed by husband-and-wife duo, Mitsunori Asakura and Hiromi Asakura, has explored in various ways of implementing a loving touch within daily designs. Having created message cards, cups, furoshiki wraps for bentos, as well as our favorites series of handkerchiefs, they are “continually dreaming, thinking and doing” with forms of “design, drawing, film, photography, text and anything else that present possibilities”.
Both being graduates from the renowned Central Saint Martins College of Art & Design, Hiromi has just recently visited Hong Kong for a portraiture session at kapok, adding to the group’s long list of works with different brands and organizations from around the world.
