Is that a balaclava at the beach?
IN recent times, controversy has been stirred by the burkini, a swim garment designed to provide maximum modesty while bathing in public.
Meanwhile, in China, another striking inversion of the typically revealing bikini swimwear has been making waves: the facekini, a mask to protect your face from the sun’s harmful rays.
Made from stretchy swimsuit material, it also shields your skin from other irritants of outdoor swimming, like encounters with jellyfish.
Zhang Shifan, the inventor of the facekini, said that she sells 40,000 of the masks a year.
In some Asian cultures, a pale complexion without signs of sun exposure is considered to be more desirable, as tanned skin indicates hard labour that belongs to the lower classes.
However this particular garment does come with the drawback that it may scare children. In spite of its colourful designs, the masks look very similar to balaclavas, which have nefarious associations.
While Zhang’s original designs are highly sought after, facekinis from copycat manufacturers can be found easily and similar products sell for as little as US$4 on online marketplaces like Amazon.
The facekini design concept has become so popular that there is now even a winter version. Made from wool, Zhan sells these online for 70 yuan (about US$11). – dpa