NEWS - 'A bit sexy and mysterious': What makes a $1000 face mask?

The first time designer Gwendolynne Burkin put on a plain black face mask, she thought it made her look "mean".

"At that point I was still seeing clients. And when you're in customer service you want to be friendly, approachable and inviting," she says. "Our mouths are a big part of how we express ourselves and how we communicate our feelings."

If you have a spare $1000, this mask by couturier Gwendolynne Burkin could be yours.CREDIT:SIMON SCHLUTER

With a lot of her usual bridal business of 23 years on hold in lockdown, Burkin began making masks from the French lace and beading she would normally use in wedding dresses that cost several thousand dollars. It was also a convenient way to use up off-cuts not big enough to make full gowns.

"I was making [masks] mainly for myself initially, in colours I could fit into my wardrobe," Burkin says. "Then, I thought, 'Whoops, I make wedding dresses, so I am making a lot in ivory lace as well."

Gwendolynne Burkin in one of her other French lace masks.CREDIT:SIMON SCHLUTER

As masks become a growing feature of everyday life in Australia and will remain mandatory or encouraged in Victoria for some time, Burkin predicts people will adopt a more fashion-forward, likening them to earrings or handbags.

Most of the styles Burkin has created cost $115, which some may consider pricey but not when you consider the work that goes into it, she says.

"I would rather own beautiful pieces I treasure ... it becomes a bit of an heirloom," she says. "I had one client email from France wanting a mask to wear to a ball in Paris. I want them to be so beautiful you can wear them past COVID-19."

Burkin's "crown jewel" is a bead and lace mask that she modelled this week on her Instagram page that she is selling for more than $1000. Currently there's only one but she plans to make some more, including beaded versions at slightly lower price points.

"I have costed them and they are lower than they should be," she says. "Some of those laces are $300 to $500 a metre, wholesale."

While Melburnians are only two months into mandatory mask-wearing, it's likely over time the idea of a "mask wardrobe" will catch on, with people owning masks for work or play, summer or winter.

"When masks are pretty, there's something a bit sexy and mysterious about them as well," Burkin says.

Burkin is banking on people wanting something more refined for, say, a wedding or other special occasion, than what they wear to the shops or for exercise; time will tell if there's a price ceiling for these pieces.

Designer Craig Braybrook, who also made his name in bridal couture, decided to start his Hot Face brand with modestly-priced masks "so it would broaden the customer base as well as allow me to have some fun with it" but he has plans for a couture line.

"I think once people have to go back to work they’ll definitely want some fashion on their face," he says.

While many of the world's leading fashion houses retooled their factories to make surgical masks for health workers at the height of the pandemic in Europe, brands such as Marni and Lanvin have since released fabric masks for consumers costing about $100 apiece.

Sadly Billie Eilish's custom Gucci mask is not available to the public - for now.

See full article here as seen on The Age and Sydney Morning Herald

Written by:

Melissa Singer

Melissa Singer is National Fashion Editor of The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.

Gwendolynne Burkin - Photo: Simon Schluter