What is this season's most in-demand fashion accessory? Why, the humble face mask, of course. With hay fever symptoms kicking in, the face mask has always been a common sight this time of the year, but now it's ubiquitous. The impact of COVID-19 has left shelves at convenience and drug stores completely stripped of them. If you don't have one now, getting hold of one won't be easy. When the MoMA Design Store offered a limited release of the Airinum Urban Air Mask 2.0 — a super serious five-layered filter mask — despite its hefty price and unusual dystopian allusions to a gas mask, it sold out fast.
For precautionary reasons, various large-scale gatherings, including some trade exhibitions, have been postponed or canceled, which leaves the clothing industry, currently heading into fashion weeks across the world, in a bit of a quandary. It can seem unseemly to focus on the relatively trivial business of style at a time of great concern — and there are ramifications that are sure to continue long after any order returns.
MoMA: bit.ly/arnium-jp (Japanese only)