Covid masks give the French a new way to be chic

A WOMAN CYCLES by in a pistachio-green mask that matches the colour of her bicycle. Masks in black, the perennial fall-back for the stylish, are the new staple in the fashionable quarters of the French capital. Since the government made mask-wearing compulsory on public transport on May 11th, elegant Parisians have ditched the mass-market pale-blue surgical ones for a dash of coronavirus chic.

Erik Schaix, a designer, sells couture models in charcoal-grey denim and batik print at his Paris boutique. They meet a demand “to get away from the pharmacy utility version”, says a sales assistant, and “add a bit of fantasy.” When Emmanuel Macron dropped in on a school wearing a navy-blue mask with a small French flag on the trim, its manufacturer was “flooded with calls” the next day, says Thomas Delise, who runs the firm. Based in eastern France, Bonneterie Chanteclair makes high-filtration masks approved by the French army, and Mr Delise had sent the president a mask on the chance he might wear it. Now the firm is launching that model in 44 different shades. A limited-edition mask with Breton stripes sold out in half an hour.