Some designers in Vietnam have stepped in to fill the demand for masks which cover the face but are still stylish.

Embroidered masks

Do Quyen Hoa, a fashion designer in Hanoi's Dong Da District, has made luxurious masks decorated with embroidered patterns.

A model with Hoa's mask. — Photo courtesy of Do Quyen Hoa

She often uses black cotton for her masks, which she then embroiders with flower, insect and animal patterns. In the middle of the cotton layers is a sheet of activated carbon.

“I think our faces, especially women’s faces, are like flowers,” she told Việt Nam News. “We cannot use masks that look like diapers or dumb textiles. Why do we dress well, wear high-end glasses and don’t wear beautiful masks?”

A heavily embroidered mask designed by Do Quyen Hoa. — Photo courtesy of the designer

“We should change our thoughts about masks, which should not only use to prevent dust, sunlight and viruses but also decorate us,” she said.

Hoa said she plans to try other materials like silk, linen, taffeta and velvet.

Her hand-embroidered masks are a first for the capital and therefore cost considerably more than average masks at VND500,000-600,000 (US$21-25.4) each depending on the patterns.
Hoa said it’s not simple to embroider on a surface as small as a mask, meaning a mask takes three days to be finished, which she said explains the high price.

“I have to think of patterns that are both attractive and unique,” she said.

“Now I just use the masks as a promotion for my frequent customers,” she said. “I’ll design some for men as well with manly embroidered patterns.”

Hoa said she already had an order to masks up an entire family from HCM City.
“I think like the clothes I design, my luxurious masks will have their own customers.”

Silk masks

Nguyen My Tra, a journalist from the Radio Voice of Vietnam, has made her own masks using silk made by artisans from Phung Xa Village in My Duc District in the western outskirts of Hanoi.

Tra (left) and her daughter at home. — Photos courtesy of Nguyen My Tra

“I love silk and know that silk has a natural anti-septic feature,” she said. “When I made my first silk masks, I gave some to my friends as gifts, who encouraged me to produce more to sell.”

Tra said she uses traditional decorative patterns weaved on silk as highlights for the face. She has changed her design several times to make the product more comfortable to wear and ensure hygiene feature by using a layer of silver nanosheet between the outer silk layers.

It takes around an hour to make a silk mask.

“Some of my friends bought my masks to give to foreigners as gifts and they liked them a lot,” she said. “Though foreigners do not like wearing masks, they like my silk masks.”

Tra said both her children and one cousin have joined her "production line" at home.

"My children are quite free during this isolation period," she said. "So it's a game for them as well."

Tra and her children in her home "production line".

She said she can also add a layer of activated carbon sheet in the middle of silk layers to improve the masks' anti-septic qualities.

Tra said she washes the silk then dries it to let the silk shrink, then soaks it with water again before cutting and sewing. It takes around an hour to complete a silk mask.

Now she has changed to silk material from Nha Xa Silk Village in Ha Nam Province in the south of Hanoi for her masks.

“My masks now not only have traditional value but also meet criteria on virus prevention,” she said.

Her masks cost VND100,000 each.

A colleague from the VOV poses for a photo with a mask made by Tra.

"Everyone has masks," she said. "But we still need something to cheer ourselves up during these doom days". VNS

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