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So, about the ‘new normal’.

It isn’t really cemented until it makes its way into fashion.

High-end runways depict the style of the times and future trends, which can give us insight into how popular culture is going to evolve in the year ahead.

So, when Paris Fashion Week (Fall collections), which took place at the start of the year, featured masks in prominent collections, we should have known what was coming.

Serre, who founded the ‘futurewear’ label in 2017, and who previously worked at Alexander McQueen, Dior and Balenciaga, featured stylish anti-pollution masks in her fall/winter collection through a collaboration with French filtration brand R-PUR.

The designer has previously said her work centres on “a decisive ecofuturist thematic and vision, “.

Image: Getty

The style then translated to the red carpet with Billie Eilish wearing a Gucci face mask to the Grammys.

Image: Getty / Amy Sussman

Billie’s mask is utterly useless, FYI. Please don’t follow her example.

More and more celebrities are donning face coverings, but the most popular is no longer the conventionally shaped face mask.

It’s all about the scarf-mask or bandanna mask now, says The Guardian.

The scarf-mask is the status accessory of summer 2020. All you need is a square of fabric folded in half corner-to-corner to make a triangle, and wrap it tightly around your face from the bridge of your nose, securing at the back of your head.

It began with hipsters and influencers on the streets of New York.

Sienna Miller, brought it to Britain on the cover of the latest issue of Grazia, while Sarah Jessica Parker was spotted wearing one at the opening of her new boutique:

Image: Startraks Photo/Rex/Shutterstock

Both Johnny Depp and Amber Heard also wore bandannas during their horrific and most recent stint in court.

Image: AFP/Wireimage

You get the idea.

Fashion aside, commentators reckon that the rise of the scarf-mask goes beyond a desire to look good in public.

Just as an Alexander McQueen trouser suit channelled fearlessness in the boardroom, there is something about the maverick-bandit mood music of a scarf-mask that can make you feel you are squaring up to the virus rather than hiding from it.

Cool, but how effective is it?

ABC News reports that scientists recently tested 14 different face coverings to determine which did the best job when it comes to protecting oneself and others from COVID-19.

While the bandanna mask is popular, the researchers say that it offers little protection. The same is true for neck gaiters.

Gaiters, which are known for being made of fleece, were found to release a lot of little particles from the wearer and created more tiny droplets than speaking without a mask.

Here’s Dr. Martin Fisher, an associate research professor from Duke University:

“These little droplets could be problematic because they have an easier time being carried away by air. So they might travel for the distance as opposed to just dropping down to the floor. So this was problematic.”

Valve masks, like the ones that Serre sent down the runway, are also likely to do more harm than good. 

Yes, face masks are the new normal, and it’s nice that high-fashion is contributing to making them commonplace, but best to err on the side of caution here, and don a multi-layered fabric face mask.

Buy or make one using fabric that matches your shoes, or whatever, if you must.

[source:guardian&abc]