Face masks and medical masks: Trend for anonymity
Represent that complex fashion will enter into mass fashion and extraordinary outfits are always difficult at first. Who would have predicted the craze for massive sneakers or narrow sunglasses five years ago? Layered images with giant things Vetements also previously looked uncomfortable, and balaclava and huge hoods - too noticeable and impractical. It seemed that all this will remain only on the podium.
As if not so: things that play up the idea of anonymity, gradually take root. Mods from Japan, for example, have been using medical masks for many years not only as a means of prevention, but also as a complete accessory. We understand how the face-bands have become relevant and whether it is worth waiting for them to appear in stores.
How it all began
In Japan, Korea, China and other Asian countries, medical masks have long become part of the routine. Many Japanese, for example, wear them out of respect for others: they should not put everyone around at risk of illness. At the same time, girls can put on a mask when they don’t want to paint themselves, but they don’t want to appear without a make-up in public, and Harajuku dandies - to complete an expressive image: children's masks, options with bright or gloomy images, and richly decorated decor rivets, pins and rings. In China, this is not about fashion, but about banal security: many cities in the country are among the most polluted points in the world, where it is sometimes dangerous because of toxic smog. Today it is customary to check not only the weather forecast, but also the level of air pollution: in some cases, children and the elderly are not recommended to leave the house. The same considerations are guided by people in Korea, where dust and smog from China regularly reach.
The masks fit so tightly into the urban uniform that they no longer attract attention in Asia - and those who choose them for reasons of anonymity, this is only on hand. In 2011, Japanese analysts came to the conclusion that teenagers who get tired of constant communication through social networks and instant messengers often wear masks to hide emotions. Kaypop stars in South Korea, or idols, also wear masks to remain unrecognized: it’s easy to hide behind black cloth from incredibly obsessive fans (complete with sunglasses makes it a bullet-proof combo in general). Most of all such masks are reminiscent of those worn by street artists fleeing paint fumes and the police.
Why are back in fashion
Needless to say, many recognizable masks have found a place in pop culture thanks to cinema and comics. Often completely hide the face of the negative characters - remember Jason Vurkhiz, Hannibal Lecter, the killers from the series of the movie "Scream", as well as the thriller "Under the mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon" and many others. Perhaps the most famous mask that the comic glorified, and then the film, was the one worn by Guy Fox from "V - means Vendetta." It was she who became an international symbol of anonymity.
But the point is, of course, not only in antagonists or contradictory heroes - which, like not a mask, reminds of the right to privacy and the inviolability of personal life. It seems that Shia Labaf, having come to the premiere of "Nymphomaniac" in a paper bag with the inscription "I am no longer famous", tried, among other things, to shift the focus from his personal life and gossip to creativity and career. The course of Kanye West, who wore Maison Martin Margiela masks on concerts in 2012-2013, is also indicative. Then the discussion of the relations between the musician and Kim Kardashian and his statements about them did not abate. True, hiding his face, Kanye only fueled interest in himself.
What is waiting for the mask
If you look at the trend with balaclava and massive hoods, the appearance of masks on the catwalks seems logical. So far, however, designers have only begun to conceptualize such an accessory.
For example, back in 2012, Rick Owens showed knitted masks in combination with closed gray-brown things - the resulting outfits looked like "cocoons". Models from the collection of the Comme des Garçons Homme Plus - 2018 collection looked bespo-free, and the main idea was to demonstrate the variability of the world and the blurring of boundaries in everything. At the presentation of the autumn collection of Julien David, the models wore dog masks: the designer himself explained that he wanted to explore human behavior in the same way as we study different breeds of animals. The fall-winter display of the Palm Angels - 2018 referred to the culture of punks: black masks and spiked balaclavas looked deliberately intimidating and repulsive. The main message of all the collections of designer Francesco Ragazzi sounds like this: "To be disobedient." The Nike and MMW collaboration also includes a face-band: it is interesting that in the advertising campaign this accessory was “tied” to a cybermodel - in the manner of how football fans hide their faces behind scarves.
In the era of social networks, when hundreds, thousands, and sometimes millions are watching your life, the desire to hide is more than understandable. However, until the mass fashion for such an accessory has come to the West, it, paradoxically, will not hide a person, but on the contrary, will single him out from the tops and make them vulnerable.
Photo: Matthew Adams Dolan, Flickr, Nike, Adidas Yeezy, Tobias Birk Nielsen
