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Italians' fashion sense is showing itself even with something as utilitarian as face masks.
Masks that cover the mouth and nose have been obligatory in public settings in Italy since March when the government issued a nationwide coronavirus lockdown. At first, with supplies limited, most people opted for improvised face coverings, switching to the standard pastel blue surgical masks used in hospitals when they became widely available.
But in recent weeks, a new generation of masks with colorful patterns or creative images have increasingly become commonplace.
"A lot of people look at the mask as a chance to add a personal touch to their look," said Sara Folliero, a worker in a one-time souvenir shop in Rome that is now dominated by displays showing more than 250 face mask designs, ranging in price from 3 to 22 euros (3.50 to 26 U.S. dollars).
"When someone walks in looking for a mask, I usually know what kind of mask they are looking for before they do," Folliero, who wore a mask with the logo of the AS Roma football team, said in an interview. "When you sell enough masks, you start to recognize who wants one with the Italian flag on it or who wants an abstract pattern or who wants something basic and practical."
Italy was the first major western country hit hard by the coronavirus outbreak. The country's national quarantine in March was Europe's first peacetime lockdown, and even though infection and mortality rates have slowed dramatically in recent weeks, the country has so far recorded nearly 250,000 total infections and more than 35,000 deaths.
But Italy -- one of the world's fashion hubs -- is also home to some of the world's best-known designer brand names, ranging from Armani, Fendi, and Gucci to Prada, Valentino, and Versace.
Even though dozens of large and small fashion houses contributed to the country's production of protective masks during the first desperate weeks of the pandemic, very few masks are produced prominently displaying the name of a famous fashion designer.
"The worst part of the crisis has passed, at least for now, but the coronavirus is still present in Italy and people are still dying every day," Hildebrandt and Ferrar textile sector analyst Marco Leary, who rotates between two solid-colored masks and one with stripes, told Xinhua. "It would be a bad image for a fashion house to be seen as profiting from a deadly crisis."
According to E. Nina Rothe, a noted fashion writer, the fashion statement made by a face mask is more like that of a mobile phone case than it is like one made by a pair of shoes or a woman's purse.
"It's a fun, inexpensive, and disposable way to show some creativity while also doing something that must be done for the mask user's health and for the health of those nearby," Rothe said in an interview. "The message from health experts is to wear a mask, and from a health perspective, it doesn't matter if it's basic or covered with diamond studs."
She went on: "If a touch of creativity makes it more likely that people will wear their mask when they go out, then that's a good thing."
For her, Rothe said she still wears the basic blue mask. "If we go back to the comparison to the mobile phone cover, then maybe it's like my using a plain plastic protective phone case. It may not make a statement, but it gets the job done."
