Face masks become a fashion trend in Indonesia and Malaysia amid COVID-19 crisis

Amid soaring numbers of COVID-19 infections, protective face masks are emerging as fashion accessories for several Indonesians and Malaysians. From ‘scary masks’ to Batik designs, people are adding some style and humour to their health wear essentials. 

While speaking to an international media outlet, a Jakarta print shop owner said that he started creating masks with people’s own faces printed on reusable neoprene material. Heni Kusmijati reportedly said that he added masks to his services after his business sales slumped due to coronavirus lockdown. Heni also added that his unique idea of turning the health wear essential into a fashion statement also helped his business stay afloat amid such challenging times. 

According to an international media outlet, customers in Indonesia and Malaysia are placing orders online. The unique masks take 30 minutes to produce and each coast approximately $3.50. The demand for such ‘fashion masks’ has also reportedly surged and helped several businesses to recover from the loss. 

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Recently, a prosthetic specialist from the Philippines also started using his skills to make ‘scary masks’. Rene Abelardo, in a bid to stay afloat financially, came up with the idea of making ghastly looking masks that were inspired by monsters and zombies. According to an international media outlet, Rene is a special effects artists and while the film and television productions have been halted due to the lockdown, he started making the unusual looking masks to raise cash. 

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Batik design face masks 

Meanwhile, in Malaysia, as Batik designs are popular, a textile designer Hafiz Drahman started making masks using soft cotton that also include optional pockets for adding filters. Hafiz reportedly said that started making the face masks using his stocks of cloth and decorated them using wax and dye, which is an ancient tradition. While speaking to the media outlet, Hafiz said that he saw the new opportunity in making batik face masks as the government made wearing masks mandatory and the demand also rose as the lockdown was eased. 

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