The world’s most exclusive fashion houses are now selling incredibly elaborate designer face masks – with eye-wateringly expensive price tags to match.
Italian luxury labels including Fendi and Dolce & Gabbana have jumped on the bandwagon with vibrantly printed silk coverings that cost up to $890 (AUD).
Florentine heritage brand Salvatore Ferragamo has also answered the call for fashionable face masks with a thin monochrome strip of cotton that would complement almost any ensemble – though its virus-blocking ability is unclear.
But it’s Parisian label Zadig & Voltaire that is spruiking the most striking style: a $104 cotton ‘mask’ that hangs over the face and neck like a cowboy bandana.
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Face mask, but make it fashion: Parisian label Zadig & Voltaire’s $104 bandana print mask that hangs over the nose, mouth and neck like a cowboy scarf
Italian luxury labels have jumped on the bandwagon with stylish coverings, with Dolce & Gabbana selling a $159 mask in its iconic print (left) and Salvatore Ferragamo launching a remarkably thin $180 style with a monochrome pattern (right)
This $890 Fendi mask, woven from pure silk, ties around the back of the head with a ribbon
All of the coverings – which Australians can order from the accessories tab on international high-end fashion site Farfetch – come with the caveat that they are for aesthetic purposes and cannot be used in place of medical-grade masks.
‘This face mask is not a suitable substitute for PPE (personal protective equipment) and we cannot authenticate any claims of medical or protective benefits of its use,’ a product description on the website reads.
Elsewhere online, equally attention-grabbing are being sold at more affordable prices.
Hong Kong clothing brand WEAT – an acronym for We Eat Avocado Toast, which pokes fun at the millennial penchant for the costly breakfast dish – has diamond-encrusted coverings that are guaranteed to make you stand out in a crowd.
German fashion influencer Leonie Hanne wears a $49 sequined mask from Hong Kong clothing brand WEAT – an acronym for We Eat Avocado Toast
The $49 sequined ‘fashion masks’ – which come in a range of glittering colours including black, gold and silver – are beloved by top Instagram influencers like Leonie Hanne, a German model with 3million followers.
The Hamburg native posted a series of outfit photos wearing a silver WEAT mask on December 23 with the caption: ‘2020 but festive… but 2020.’
Leonie’s audience were quick to gush over the unique style, flooding the snaps with comments including ‘wow’ and ‘love your sparkly mask’.
‘All I want for Christmas is your mask,’ one woman wrote.
