How does a new accessory like the face mask take off — especially when it covers a good portion of a wearer’s face?
The air is getting more dangerous to breathe all over the world and it will soon give birth to a new accessory that will most likely be capitalized on – the face mask.
In the past few days, as has been the case for many years, Lahore has been engulfed in a thick grey smoke and many of the people on the streets have been wearing scarves or masks across their mouths. The air is as bad as smoking half a pack of cigarettes a day and it’s only getting worse each year. It’s like living in a dystopian future but it’s not just a dark blip, this one is more a glimpse into our collective future. With Lahore being the worst in the world… let that sink in… a lot of the pharmacies currently selling them are running low on surgical masks and the recommended N95 masks (the only kind that keeps the dangerous particles out).
What is the average person supposed to do when the air around them is no longer safe to breathe? Air purifiers are expensive and it’s not possible to stay indoors all day for most of the population; here enters the face mask, an accessory ripe for the market in these dystopian times. In the past few years, a handful of companies have started making air filtration masks engineered specifically for both fashion and function. In the US, a company called Vogmask has all but cornered the market with its brightly colored designs and other companies like Airpop and Respro are entering the fold, hoping to provide an attractive alternative to the standard white painter’s mask. But how does a new accessory category take off — especially one that covers a good portion of a wearer’s face?
The logic is the same as when sunglasses were being positioned for retail, historically. If sunglasses didn’t exist today and one was going to pitch an investor on sunglasses, one would most likely be met with hesitation. To pitch something that is put in front of your eyes so that you can’t see and is essentially supposed to protect you from your environment. They wouldn’t warm up to it easily and masks are no different. Now sun glasses retail for thousands of dollars and people buy them because they not only shield their eyes from the sun but are also a great fashion accessory. The same is going to be the case with face masks.
Some parts of the world already have a huge head start here. People in Korea, Japan, and parts of China regularly wear what are often called “courtesy masks”, surgical masks worn to prevent their germs from infecting others. With Diwali time in India just having taken place, Delhi has also shot up on the pollution radar and many people are tweeting about how they are carrying around their masks too.
With the Asian part of the world being at the least favorable end of the air quality monitor the idea is bound to pick up fastest here and we’re sure to see brands capitalize on the need of the hour.
