00:00Hi, I'm Connie Wang, executive editor of Refinery29, and I write about how what we
00:05wear connects to our culture. In February of this year, I found myself struggling to write an
00:09article about this rash of violence against Asian Americans who chose to wear face masks in public.
00:14The CDC had said face masks did little to prevent the spread of this disease
00:18that was ravaging China, but wasn't yet in America. In fact, civilians who wore them would
00:24be committing a deeply selfish act. Every person you saw on the subway in a mask meant there was
00:29one less for medical professionals in hospitals. I had a hard time figuring out how I could get
00:34this point across. To those who grew up around SARS, they believed masks warped in stopping the spread
00:39of disease. It wasn't controversial, self-centered, or anti-science. Masks as a daily accessory was just
00:46a fact of life. How could I explain that to Americans who rarely saw them in public? Fast forward six
00:53months, one pandemic, and over 170,000 American deaths. Everything has changed. It wasn't until
01:01early April when the CDC finally acknowledged that non-medical masks were effective in slowing the
01:05spread of COVID-19 that folks were able to wear them with science on their side. But by then,
01:11more than 10,000 Americans had already died. Today, we know the difference between N95s and non-medical cloth
01:17masks. We have etiquette around exercising, grocery shopping, and taking public transportation in
01:22masks. We also know that not everyone is willing to wear them. To some, masks have become so politicized
01:28to the detriment of our public health. Six months ago, most Americans couldn't tell you where to buy
01:33a facial mask. These days, most Americans likely own at least one. This sudden demand, and therefore
01:40sudden need to supply them, predictably, has thrown the fashion industry for a loop. The pandemic has already
01:45upped its production capabilities and supply chains, as well as ransacked consumers' pocketbooks,
01:51and thus their abilities and appetite to purchase new clothing and accessories. But masks have become
01:56a necessity. So what now? Some designers like Christian Siriano, Rachel Comey, and Dove Charney
02:02quickly turned their factories into creating non-medical PPE, or personal protective equipment. But
02:07creating masks to some was not only a charitable act, but also a potential financial life raft to offset the
02:14loss in revenue of apparel, occasion wear, and typically reliable fashion categories.
02:19Etsy reported the company earned 346 million dollars in three months alone from selling masks,
02:25a category that just didn't exist three months prior. But the late adoption of masks presented a moral
02:31predicament for those interested in making them. Start producing fun masks and risk being labeled as
02:36cashing in on a health crisis. Ignore it and risk being seen as negligent. The result was, predictably,
02:43chaos. In fact, Dove Charney's LA apparel factories, which reopened to churn out masks to a swarm of
02:49positive press, later became a hotbed for infection. Over 300 workers contracted coronavirus and four died
02:57before the county's Department of Public Health ordered the factories to close. For all these reasons,
03:03you can't find face masks on luxury retail sites. I don't know any other product that's been as politicized
03:09to the extent that retailers feel the need to bury them away and hide them. When you search for face
03:14masks
03:14on luxury fashion retailers, you're more likely to come across $95 SK-II facial treatment sheet masks than PPE.
03:22High-end designer versions of masks do exist, but they've been created by younger, more progressive labels
03:28like Maureen Ser, Kalina Strada, and Off-White. And they're going to cost you well into the hundreds.
03:34In case you were curious, here are some of the most expensive masks I could find on the internet.
03:38And this one from Off-White, the highest bid is for $222, but they're asking for $410 for one.
03:47But at least for now, people are still buying masks. And that might not change for a while. That begs
03:53the
03:53question. When it comes to masks and fashion, are they just a trend? Will they disappear with the
03:58implementation of a vaccine? Or has this pandemic effectively created a whole new category for
04:03designers? If we look to East Asian countries who dealt with SARS for any guidance, mask wearing has
04:09remained a habit for most people. But there, masks are, for the most part, a purely utilitarian tool.
04:15Blue and white medical masks are as common an accessory as sunglasses or headphones. But there,
04:20you're unlikely to see fashion masks. But will that spirit extend back to the US, where our tendency
04:26to value individualism over collectivism has pushed back on the mass adoption of masks and, hello,
04:32allowed the continued spread of COVID? Some fashion designers are wary of investing too much in masks,
04:37lest the public's need and desire for non-medical masks disappear after a vaccine. It's possible that
04:42Americans' instincts toward self-expression and originality will lead to a real opportunity for
04:47fashion masks to flourish. It says something about American culture that we immediately pivot from
04:52wearing something that is functional and does the job to wearing something that expresses my
04:56personality or that makes me look or feel good. That pivot from essential item to fashion item is
05:02something that's quite peculiar to the American market. It speaks to the American sense of individuality,
05:07the American sense of individuality, but also entrepreneurialism.
