The changing face of shopping in the Covid era

Wearing a face mask in public feels a bit like turning up for a fancy dress party.

Most people in their right minds feel uncomfortable with both but it’s something they do against their will, either to comply with coronavirus restrictions or to avoid offending a friend who can’t have fun unless everyone is dressed like something from a 1970s disco. Of course there are easy ways to dodge the spirit of a fancy dress parties (like wearing a suit and pretending you’ve come as a politician of your choice).

It’s less easy to fake a face mask in a supermarket. You’re either wearing one or not, unless you have a spectacular amount of facial hair to that point it becomes unclear. The compulsory wearing of face masks in confined shopping spaces lends everything a distinctly apocalyptic air, until you stop and think what they’re actually doing. Whenever I pass a branch of Waitrose in a rather dated shopping precinct, the sight of masked and despondent customers is not unlike a scene from the 1970s horror film Dawn of the Dead. But instead of tearing the limbs from random passers-by, as appearances might suggest, you realise the ‘undead’ are actually waiting to politely purchase quinoa, gogi berries and artisan coffee. For something that was simple and functional at the start of lockdown, the face mask seem to have become a source of oneupmanship for many, with designer branding and sophisticated-looking breathing valves. In pre-coronavirus days, the FA Cup final was characterised by the players taking to the turf at Wembley in expensive-looking suits. At the weekend, the Arsenal and Chelsea teams were reduced to wearing expensivelooking face masks while rattling around an empty stadium.

The black ones with the Adidas logo will surely become this season’s ‘must have’ accessory for fashion-conscious dodgers and non-spreaders of Covid-19.

‘The face mask has become a source ofoneupmanship for many, with designer branding and sophisticatedlooking breathing valves’