I have just made one, which I'll come back to.
A covering for all or part of the face, for disguise, for amusement, for entertainment, to frighten, or, to protect.
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| Gucci Manifesto collection AW 2019/20 |
Before we go any further, check this link from The New York Times thoughtful and relevant article, 'Should Masks Be a Fashion Statement?'
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/22/fashion/coronavirus-fashion-face-masks.html
If you can't be bothered reading it, just ponder this section, "But does that mean they should also become, like a coat and sunglasses, an individual fashion statement? Or are they rather a sign of something else: solidarity, and the social contract?"
(and I like the comment concerning homemade masks and unity.)
Want a quick and brief history of masks....take this link to get you started
https://prezi.com/1u7cjn_y0k1k/a-brief-history-of-masks/
Masks have often been an aspect of fashion, and certainly for CdG.
Check out the AW 2006 Persona collection.
This collection was into 'what's in front and what's behind'. Sarah Mower, who presented the coverage, referred to the 'extraordinary Venice carnival masks' as assisting RK to work with the complexities of disguises we construct to represent ourselves to the world.
Masks are the hallmark of the il Carnevale di Venezia, and generally fall into 3 categories:
- Commedia dell'Arte, masks based on traditional characters like Harlequin & Pierrot
- Fantasy masks, figments of maskmakers imagination
- Traditional Venetian masks, such as white volto half-mask with nose cover and variants, or plague doctor masks
The Venice Carnival masks take me to a scrapbook I have, which is full of wonderful mask creations that would go down really well at festival time.
CdG 2009 A/W 'Wonderland, where nothing is as it seems' collection presented the models in delightful veiled face masks, with off-placed embroidered sequined lips.
Some interesting masks appear in the CdG S/S 2012 'White Drama' collection. Dr Who alien like.
Lace veil like masks were created in the amazing hair styling in A/W 2015 'The ceremony of separation' collection
When it comes to veil masking, this is the best I can do. A couple of felt pillbox hats...
Comme des Garcons Homme A/W 2014 presented a collection, which explored tailoring with an added fascination, the model's faces obscured by black hair whorled into gas-mask like protrusions.
Julien d'ys is the creative genius behind this work, and many other astounding works presented in CdG collections. Here is an interesting interview with him about the inspiration to deliver this amazing look.
Dazed Digital: This season it felt like you drew on horror references...
DD: You've worked for Comme for several years, what's been the most thrilling experience of it all?
Julien d’ys: Each time is a big experience, she trusts me so much, I GIVE my heart to her!
DD: And what was the process behind creating the look?
Julien d’ys: First I had to find the right wigs. Then after that it was more difficult: it’s like sculpture, but special products that I use called "SECRET FABRIC". You have to be perfectionist, and make no mistakes; I did each wig alone in my atelier in Paris.
DD: This season saw Rei Kawakubo look back at her own archive with the hole jumpers from her Paris debut. What do you admire about her early work and the sprit that has continued to shape the brand?
Julien d’ys: I love her creativity, she is not like everybody else. A ‘recherché’ of perfection – perfection known to few people – that's why I like her!
The CdG Homme A/W 2015 featured a cool tiger mask, to match the detachable sleeves. Maybe there was also a leopard mask...
I had a shot at the mask...as Eric says, it doesn't show up clearly, but you get the idea.
But, really, nothing beats these masks from the A/W 2018 'White shock, the punk inside' collection....
Fabulous dinosaur masks, made by Shimoda Masakatsu.
Some great images of these masks are found via this link. Highly creative.
And my take with a dinosaur mask...T-Rex.
Comme des Garcons shirt collections are always inspiring.
The S/S 2019 one being no exception. Classic shirts are presented in interesting ways, in this case, some featured various mask illustrations. Some featured cut out eyes positioned at stomach level to emphasise that mask look. Shirts even got wrapped around the model's faces, creating actual masks. A cool act of styling.
I did have a plan to construct a cream coloured shirt featuring this minecraft wolf mask-type image. However, all the materials are back in a bag, in my classroom, which I have been unable to enter since our 23rd March COVID-19 closedown.
Undercover's Jun Takahashi presented a Patti Smith, 1970s New Wave style inspired collection in A/W 2004. There were some fabulous masks, created by Anne Valerie Dupont, what they had to do with PS I am unsure, but they are very cool. (Birdland, maybe.)
A closer look...
Undercover's 2019 AW collection also included a number of masks. Soon as I saw them, I thought Alex's Droogs...a violent group of young men they were.
They're malevolent masks aren't they, even without the Doc.Martins and the groin padding!
Interested in the Undercover collection, take in this video.
What about Walter Van Beirendonck's cute masked hoods from AW2018..
In 2003, American artist Josh MacPhee experimented with the art of disguise into everyday life. He set up 'The Mask Project: Terrorism Begins at Home'
The concept being, the balaclava pattern is to be copied onto sticker paper, cut out and applied to the faces of politicians, celebrities and the like, which appear on magazine covers, posters and billboards. Macphee saw masks as an effective and clear means of expressing mood and sentiment. The balaclava is a potent conveyor of meaning, due to its association with extremists, hi-jackers and terrorists. Macphee felt that his 'Mask Project' would help the general public to voice their opinions without repercussions. Such work is known as being part of a guerilla project.
If we're talking about balaclavas, well we gotta mention Pussy Riot.
Pussy Riot, the Russian feminist protest punk rock group founded in 2011, who stage guerilla performances in public. Themes include feminism, LGBT rights and opposition to Russian president Vladimir Putin. The members prefer anonymity, so wear brightly coloured balaclavas, when performing and use aliases when giving interviews. Their February 2012 performance in Moscow's Cathedral of Christ the Saviour brought them world-wide notoriety.
This video will give you further insight into the group.
How about knitting your own balaclava....here's a cool pattern from my delightful 'The Parisian Sweatshop Book, crafts from the Paris Sewing Cafe.
And, another group of girls, into masked performance...
The Guerilla Girls.
In 1984 a group of women started an art collective called 'The Guerilla Girls'. It was in response to MoMA's exhibition "An International Survey of Recent Painting & Sculpture." Of the 165 artists involved, only 13 were women, and the number of artists of colour was even smaller, none of whom were female.
The Guerilla Girls decided the best way to fight discrimination in the art world was to make art about it.
They demonstrated with placards, posted posters onto walls, wore gorilla masks and used names that referred to dead female artists.
One of their very first posters...
Getting back to where I started....
This is a microclimate jacket, providing protection for those who are on the move. An electronic filter mask protects the wearer from chemical pollutants, when he or she is out and about in the city.
Vexed Generation, a London-based label led the 1990's trend for tough, urban street wear. The designers used riot gear as their inspiration, and from this developed a range of protective clothing suitable for cycling, riding scooters and the like. Concerns about the increased use of CCTV was instrumental in the shaping of their 'Ninja Hood' and 'Ninja High-Neck Tops'.
The designers were not wanting to encourage criminal activity, but to help level out the playing field, when those in charge start abusing their powers. More than anything, Vexed Generation appear to express apprehension about the erosion of civil liberties, such as the right to protest.
This link demonstrates that strong-on-the-CCTVed-street-scene that inspired the designers.
The shape of the mask in the above jackets has a similar fit like the one I've created. A dart and a panel have it fitting really well across the nose and the chin,
https://www.trendpatterns.co.uk/pdf-patterns/free-facemask
Going to make a mask? This article could provide you with some worthwhile information re the fabric to use.
https://www.fastcompany.com/90498216/some-fabrics-might-filter-as-well-as-n95-masks-and-you-probably-have-them-at-home
G95 have developed a hoodie with a built-in mask, made from a material that can theoretically filter out germs.
The composition of the mask section...no idea of the price! Maybe we will be seeing more of these styles of hoods in the future.
I know the jury is still out,and there is conflicting research into the efficacy of homemade masks, but the general consensus appears to be they are better than nothing.
I think our masks of today have more going for them than these ones did...
Have a go making one. This site provides a free download template. Fun. Interpret it in your own way.
http://www.stormthecastle.com/how-to-make-a/make-a-medieval-plague-mask.htm
I am leaving the last word to E, in his very own PPE gear, telling his boss he's ready to come back into the classroom!
