On that 25,000-peso designer face mask everyone is talking about
I was browsing through Instagram last week when I saw local haute couture designer Mak Tumang post about his mask collection. I was interested because I’ve been following his work for years - before taking Catriona Grey to the finish line as Miss Universe 2018 with her famous Mayon Gown (also known as Lava Gown), he has been making stunning bridal and couture gowns for his dedicated clients. I love his obvious attention to detail and appreciate the craftsmanship that goes into each piece. I can’t afford a Mak Tumang gown, but it’s free to look! I think of his pieces as wearable art because of the vision he incorporates into his work.
Recently though, the talented designer has found himself in hot water because of his face mask collection. For P1,500, you can buy a set of four printed face masks. This is not cheap, but P375 for a washable mask is not unreasonable to the right person. What got everyone worked up is the 25,000-peso fully beaded mask inspired by the Lava Gown.
I asked what the Project Vanity Community thought about it, and they responded! Andrea Amado said, “Price is insane. That amount can feed so many people. We have to be practical these days. And if you have that extra cash, donate it to the ones who need it the most.” Joy Yap agrees. She said, “The beaded mask is our 2wks [sic] worth of grocery. Nice the mask but it won't protect me nor my finances. As for the cheaper ones, I can buy 4-5boxes of Indoplas surgical masks which is 200-250 masks. People need to be realistic and wise nowadays. This is kalokahan na. The designer needs to practice sensitivity”
But there are those whose opinions are on the other side of the fence. Helen Blas said, “The materials of Catriona's gown alone costs over 1M already because it's [made with] Swarovski [crystals], so the 25k one is not surprising. The super rich can just buy it for themselves like any designer stuff. I'm not complaining about the price because I'm not interested in buying it at all. Pero may bibili at bibili parin, and it's up to them how they want to spend their money.”
Kay Lee concurs, “The 25k mask price is justified considering the skills of the designer, and the popularity and impact of the "lava gown." I believe its not intended to be used as a face mask, let alone to be used daily. For me, it's just a piece of artwork or a memorabilia, especially for the fans. Kaya it could have been a great opportunity sana for Mak Tumang to team up once again with Catriona Gray and use it for a good cause, especially since Catriona tried to auction up items last month to raise funding for CoVID testing.”
Feanne Hontiveros Mauricio has a different angle, “…With other designer clothes, one could justify the pricing based on craftsmanship, artistry, and ethicality of production. Designer clothes are art pieces and are priced as such. Designer PPE suits and masks cannot just be art pieces because they need to fulfill a specific health-related function…Clarity on this aspect is part of a designer’s responsibility especially in the context of a global pandemic. For face masks, unless these are the disposable type, the basic functionality we expect is that they should be washable, breathable, and reasonably serve as a protective barrier. Reusable mask designs typically feature multiple layers and limited stitching (to limit additional holes in the barrier) to facilitate protection.”
She adds, “If the beaded face mask is actually washable and breathable as described by the designer, then I have no qualms with that because there are still a lot of other affordable options on the market anyway. (It would be a different case if masks were in scarce supply and people were having trouble getting masks at an accessible price point.) If the beaded face mask is not really washable, it should be sold as just an art piece - not an actual face mask - and clearly labeled as such.”
Personally, I feel like while the price is definitely up there, it’s not surprising. Each piece is probably hand-beaded and takes many, many hours to finish. The materials are also expensive so that figures into the cost. Stepping into the designer’s shoes, this is on paper a good way to drum up cash flow for a couture business that is certainly suffering from the economic effects of the pandemic. Who will buy gowns when there are no events? Mak Tumang was probably just thinking of how to survive and keep his workers employed. His gowns probably cost a quarter of a million pesos on average (just an estimate so please correct me if I’m wrong), so the P25,000 price point may not seem like a lot to his clientele.
But I agree that this is tone-deaf, and could have been communicated better noting the points above. Donating some of the proceeds to a relevant charity would be a good step in the right direction.
In the end, we should just think of the mask as as an art piece that maybe will be taken out once in a while to a special occasion (worn on top of a surgical mask ideally) and then sanitized with a UV light. Is it a crime against humanity though? I don’t think so. It’s just not a great look.
