How to wear a face mask with style: match Covid-19’s must-have accessory with your favourite Gucci and Saint Laurent this Christmas

Dec 15 , 2020

On him: Dunhill, pants, HK$23,500; bag, HK$14,500; mask, stylist’s own. On her: Salvatore Ferragamo: dress, HK$13,950; Saint Laurent by Anthony Vaccarello leggings, HK$7,200; heels, HK$7,950; gloves, stylist’s own. Photos: Kiu Lau @ Shyalala

We might all be sick of masking up, but top designers like Alexander McQueen and Marc Jacobs for Louis Vuitton were channelling the drama of Ancient Greece to match face masks with high fashion long before the pandemic

Masks, the must-have accessory of 2020, historically served as a theatrical tool in Greek theatre. Employed to magnify actors’ emotions and allow easy multitasking between different roles, the stage props were heavy on drama and often depicted exaggerated visages. Way before Covid-19, creative names like Alexander McQueen, Thom Browne, Viktor & Rolf, Marc Jacobs for Louis Vuitton and Japan’s Anrealage all offered interpretations of this theatrical tradition in their fashion collections.

As masks have become the new normal in 2020, designers and fashionistas alike are incorporating the accessory into daily fashion ensembles; think of Lady Gaga’s rivet-embellished pink mask. Here in our latest shoot, we blend the whimsy of the accessory’s past with the season’s newest high fashion to reveal a real style statement.

Balenciaga dress, HK$18,700 (US$2,412); mask, stylist's own

Gucci gloves, HK$4,550; Maiko Takeda headpiece, price upon request; Saint Laurent by Anthony Vaccarello leggings, HK$7,200.

Iris van Herpen dress; mask, stylist’s own.

Alexandre Vauthier dress, HK$26,380, available from Net-a-Porter. Charlie le Mindu mask, price upon request

Fendi bodysuit, HK$25,800; boots, HK$9,200; belt, HK$9,200; Charlie Le Mindu mask, price upon request.

Gucci hoodie, HK$7,800; gloves, HK$4,550; skirt, HK$31,900; Peter Do top, HK$6,615, available from Net-a-Porter.

On him: Emporio Armani blouson, HK$31,000; pants, HK$4,700; Balenciaga boots, price upon request. On her: Gucci necklace, HK$12,400; Tom Ford gown, HK$199,950; Saint Laurent by Anthony Vaccarello heels, HK$7,950; earrings and masks, stylist’s own.

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Leona Liu

Leona Liu is the former Editor of STYLE, covering a variety of lifestyle topics from fashion to design. She has previously worked at iconic titles like VOGUE, GQ, Harper’s Bazaar, National Geographic and most recently, the design magazine Perspective.

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