Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Demand grows for creative, innovative and pricey masks
TOKYO — Rieko Kawanishi is the first to admit that the pearl-laden mask she designed is not the most effective defense against the coronavirus.
“It’s full of holes,” she said with a laugh.
But her handmade face covering, which she recommends wearing over a regular mask, reflects a burst of creative attention in the worlds of fashion and technology to a humble product that had been largely unchanged for decades.
“After the pandemic, there were so many more places where, for the first time, you absolutely had to wear a mask,” said Kawanishi, a jewelry designer in Tokyo. “I just thought, I want to make something elegant.”
As the virus continues its relentless spread, with rules on mask-wearing being tightened in many places around the world, consumers are starting to demand more of the coverings that will guard their public breaths for the foreseeable future.
Inventors have dreamed up masks with motorized air purifiers, Bluetooth speakers and even sanitizers that kill germs by heating the face covering (but hopefully not the face) to over 200 degrees. In South Korea, electronics giant LG has created a mask powered with fans that make it easier to breathe.
In boutiques, patterned masks are showing up on mannequins, exquisitely paired with designer dresses. An Indian businessman said he spent $4,000 on a custom mask made of gold. And a French costume designer has filled Instagram with phantasmagoric designs featuring everything from pterodactyls to doll legs.
The urge to innovate has been great in Japan, where masks were widespread even before the pandemic, used to warm faces or protect against pollen, influenza or the unwelcome gaze of strangers.
Taisuke Ono, chief executive of a tech startup, Donut Robotics, said he envisioned a world where people could be wearing masks on trips abroad for the next 10 years or more. If that happens, they will demand that their masks do more than just protect them from viruses, he said.
His company is building a mask that serves as a combination walkie-talkie, personal secretary and translator. It can record its user’s voice, projecting it to someone else’s smartphone — all the better for social distancing — or transmuting it from Japanese into a variety of languages.
“The pandemic made this possible,” he said, noting that his prototype had generated media attention and enormous interest from investors on Makuake, a Japanese version of Kickstarter.
While it’s unclear how well some of these more ambitious masks will fare with consumers, one innovation has been a clear hit: face coverings with hightech fabrics that are said to provide superior comfort or protection.
As summer temperatures rise, masks made of materials intended to keep wearers cool are in demand.
People who have been wearing reusable cloth masks are finding them ill-suited for the heat and humidity of summer.