FLATTEN THE CURVE WITH STYLE, VERVE
DESIGNER Tory Burch, whose brand recently sold out of its new face masks in less than an hour, supports the wearing of face coverings. She challenged her 2.4 million Instagram followers in a post in June: “#WearaDamnMask because we want to protect ourselves and, even more importantly, we want to protect others.”
Burch’s label is one of dozens of clothing brands to put their own spin on facial coverings to make them more visually appealing and help prevent the spread of COVID-19.
The rest of the luxury sector is beginning to follow suit. Antoine Arnault, head of communications and image at LVMH Moët Hennessy, said the luxury conglomerate’s labels likely will begin production on designer masks.
“It’s true that they are becoming fashion items like any other,” Arnault told French media outlet Quotidien, according to a Women’s Wear Daily story.
Although Brandon Maxwell and Christian Siriano were among the first American designers to turn their attention away from creating couture gowns to focus on making masks for donation, the verdict is largely still out on what a luxury fashion mask might look like — and just how expensive one could be.
A few high-end brands have given us some indication. This week, Italian label Emilio Pucci launched five designs priced at $85. British label Erdem included a $65 Italian cotton mask in its pre-fall 2020 collection, while Olivier Rousteing, Balmain’s creative director, offered his take on what a luxe mask might look like.
In May, he posted a sparkling scorpion mask on his Instagram account with the caption: “Dear 2020, Don’t think I will be in pyjamas all year.” Another post from Rousteing included a video of models wearing satin masks paired with the French designer’s looks.
As we wait to see what the luxury industry might make, we offer some of our favorite mask designs.