FluShields Takes A Quick View Into The Fashion World and Face Masks

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The fashionable cotton face mask has arrived in everyday fashion. In addition to dresses, coats or suits, colorful heeled sandals or winter boots, and jingling jewelry, you can now find what you are looking for when it comes to infection protection and being fashionable. The selection is not yet large, but it will certainly not take long until designers catch up. It is simply a fact that face coverage is an all-seasons accessory for better or worse nowadays, so better get used to it. 

After the customers have been able to get by with the self-sewn and handcrafted masks for a few months in very different style levels, the demand for something special is growing - now that production and trade are starting up again. People and their consumer behavior don't change that quickly, not even in the face of a pandemic.

Good news: You can actually protect yourself as much as possible by wearing an N95 respirator mask:  Get your N95 respirator masks for the whole family today. 

The encouragement that is widespread on social media: "If you have beautiful eyes, now is your moment", does not fail to have an effect for a short time. But whether with or without beautiful eyes, when you have to cover half your face, the need to do this with a certain stylistic dignity grows. Politicians started matching the color of their masks with the color of their clothes, in Austria green government politicians were the first to appear with elegant drapery in party color in front of their noses and mouths.

Of course, the fashion labels had and still have scruples about actually generating sales with the masks they sell. There is too much concern that someone will be accused of profit-making during the crisis. That is why the majority of the masks that are available in different online stores are marked with the label "Charity". The net profit generated by these products are mostly donated to charity. The online boutique Aboutyou for example emphasizes that it sells masks at cost price: Here, too, the fabric masks have naturally been included in the "Accessories" category. There is also its own special collection created by influencers, models and designers. German TV favorite Guido Maria Kretschmer, for example, offered one with a cat's nose in autumn 2020. His company, which actually specializes in socks, has a particularly pragmatic kind of good deed: with every comparatively high-priced mask that you buy there - for example with the imprint "Smiling inside" - you also buy a second one which is donated to those who cannot afford it.

Sales talent Kim Kardashian combined her MNS initiative with a charitable campaign. She announced that she would donate 10,000 masks - the mask collection presented at the same time by her underwear brand Skims sold out within minutes.

Incidentally, this gives the recently born Viennese term "nasal thong" a whole new meaning. This also applies to the bikini line of the Italian Elexia Beachwear, which skilfully combines mask and bathing trunks.

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"Vogue" helped its clientele through the crisis with a compilation of the most beautiful masks. The Prouenza Schouler collection was sold out after only a few days on the market, with a mere 100 dollars per facial accessory - also in favour of the New York Covid Aid.

The luxury brands Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Chanel and similar were quite reluctant to get into the fashionable face mask business. They made masks at the height of the lockdown - but for those who needed them most at the time: medical staff and hospitals. Prada switched production at the end of March 2020 and started producing 110,000 respiratory masks for paramedics in the Tuscany region. Armani also earned merits in this way: Giorgio Armani not only donated two million euros for the public health system in Italy, he also produced protective coats for paramedics in factories that are otherwise extremely expensive jackets.

It is a Gucci mask, however, that will go down in fashion history as prophetic. Singer Billie Eilish wore it with her usual eccentric outfit at this year's Grammys in January.

Even earlier - before Corona - was fashion designer Marine Serre, who "foresaw" what was in store for fashion as early as September 2019 at the Paris fashion shows for spring / summer 2020. In one of the dystopian collections - also a popular genre in the fashion world - the models wore face masks that were supposed to help against air pollution. At that time, one could hardly have imagined that there would have been raging sales - except in Asia. A Chinese designer, Masha Ma, sent her models down the catwalk with Swarovski-adorned masks around 2014, and they went on sale. Often masks were simply used as an accessory because of the alienating effect - for example at Gucci in the autumn / winter season 19/20, in which spiky face coverings were supposed to shake up.

Now, in 2021, there are myriad fashionable face masks to choose from, including styles from London-based brands such as Erdem, Christopher Kane and Rixo. Lady Gaga’s appearance with a series of wild, avant-garde masks  at the VMA, inspired thousands of fans to find their own vibrant face mask coverings. According to statistics, the singers appearance prompted a 43 per cent spike in searches for “bold” and “colourful” face mask styles following her performance in early September 2020.

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This much is clear: ugly sneakers defined 2017, itty-bitty sunglasses defined 2018 and 2020 belongs to the face mask. The mask has saturated the culture, becoming a symbol of political expression as well as self-expression. A face mask hides and reveals, confines and frees - all at the same time which is cool and the perfect statement in these shaky times.

The question is: Are masks a passing fad, or part of a new normal? They appeared on the surface out of necessity and people got used to it. Does that mean that once a vaccine is found, the need will disappear? That's just not clear, yet, since the desire for them has just been developed. Many people actually feel good wearing fashionable face masks as a cool statement. It may take a while for the public to recover and return to normal habits. Once a vaccine has been found it may take time before people—or at least, those people who understand that masks are essential to controlling the pandemic—feel comfortable going without a face mask, especially now that we’re all so very aware of how quickly airborne viruses spread. 

With all the hype, one should not forget, that those fashionable face masks do not offer proper protection against viruses like COVID-19 as surgical masks or N95/KN95 face masks do. They are simply the most basic way of protecting oneself from pollution or dust, but not from viruses or bacteria. For proper protection, one should get N95 or KN95 face masks or surgical masks. Find out the difference between recommended face masks in one of our blogs here. 

Good news: You can actually protect yourself as much as possible by wearing an N95 respirator mask: Get your N95 respirator masks for the whole family today. 

Disclaimer: Please note that we can only pass on general information and cannot make any guarantees or be liable for any consequences of your decision making or behavior. Use good common sense and ask your healthcare provider or physician for advice.

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