It goes without saying that Aesop, the brand that made amber glass packaging cool, is one that's footed on culture-- literature, architecture, even classic books. Each year, the brand focuses on one segment for its Gift Kits, meant to delight the senses and pique the mind.
This year, the brand rolls out four gift kits that tell stories of local culture and neighbourly connections— a dialogue facilitated through a considered and creative approach to the built environment, the brand explains.
Called Gift Kits 2022-23: Poetry of Place, the line is shaped by the brand's philosophy of design, paying homage to the architecture of four chosen signature Aesop stores and their environs.
The kits pay close attention to the routines and customs that define varied cultural settings where once these places are unalike yet connected through shared rituals–– setting the scene for explorations of the ritual of gifting around the world.
Each kit contains an assortment of carefully complementary formulations from a selection of skin, hand, and body care.
Offered in a box made from 100 per cent recycled paper pulp, the Gift Kit is wrapped in a recyclable sleeve that includes information about the architecture of the chosen store, as well as a playful guide to the area's vernacular— offering insight into the distinctive locale that inspired it.
Inspired by the singular stone façades of Aesop Pitt Street, Sydney, which provided inspiration for the outer casing of Igneous, a gift kit of Geranium Leaf formulations.
Meanwhile, echoes of the kiln reverberate between the arches of Aesop Sounds Hannam, Seoul. The warm and cloistered space provided inspiration for Industrious— a gift kit comprising a triptych hand care essentials.
The sandy, Mojave hue lends itself to the relaxed, inside-outside feel of Aesop Downtown LA, whose tubular walls, inspired by the cardboard containers used by Hollywood costumers, are found replicated in the outer casing of Congruous—a gift kit of reviving hand and body care.
Finally, drawing inspiration from the Aesop New Town Plaza, Hong Kong, Precipitous pays an ode to Hong Kong's skyline, while vast granite slabs invite age-old rituals of ablution and touch.
