DUBAI: Forget the predictable box of chocolates and flowers this Valentine’s Day — renowned fashion photographer duo Inez and Vinoodh have unveiled a virtual kissing booth just in time for Feb. 14, and it’s for a good cause.
The legendary image-makers launched the campaign as part of their Double Dutch initiative, which promotes sustainable and charitable gifting.
After learning that some $16 billion-worth of holiday gifts are thrown out in a year in the US alone, the pair launched a charitable platform in collaboration with savings platform Kidfund at the end of 2020 to create digital “cards” that people can exchange instead of physical gifts.
In celebration of Valentine’s Day, the photographers called on a number of supermodels and stars, including Moroccan-Egyptian-Dutch beauty Imaan Hammam, to kiss a piece of paper that was turned into a digital kiss that people can gift to their loved ones, along with a charity of their choice.
Hammam is supporting the Honnold Foundation, a non-profit that promotes solar energy in communities around the world.
“I’m joining @inezandvinoodh and @doubledutchcash in sending a kiss to give to a cause. When you send a kiss from me your donation supports @honnoldfoundation,” she wrote on Instagram Stories.
She added: “Every kiss you send from me benefits the @honnoldfoundation — working to promote solar energy for a more equitable world.”
The Honnold Foundation is just one of the many charitable organizations that customers can choose to support. After selecting their digital card and artwork, customers can then select an amount to give to one of the site’s other listed charities, which currently include Parley for the Oceans, the Wildlife Conservation Network, WHO Covid-19 Solidarity Response Fund, Charity: Water, and OutRight Action International.
The 24-year-old is joined by supermodel Christy Turlington, popstar Dua Lipa, model Emily Ratajkowski, musician Arca, climate activist Quannah Chasinghorse and actress Laura Harrier, among others.
In the run-up to Feb. 14, two “kisses” were released on the website each day, with Lipa’s set to drop on Valentine’s Day.
For her part, Hammam is no stranger to charitable causes and is currently an ambassador for She’s the First, a grassroots organization that helps empower young women through education around the world.
“Being a woman and having this type of career and this job, I just felt like at some point I was like, ‘Oh, my God, I have to help women like me, or girls like me, to tell them and show them that you’re able to dream big and be able to pursue any kind of dream you have,’ she recently told Harper’s Bazaar of her partnership with She’s the First.
