After designer face masks, ‘COVID- proof ’ apparels are the next area of innovations designers and brands are coming up with.
One such example is Covest, a smart jacket with in-built face mask, body temperature display screen, magic pockets and viral shield.
Designed by Somesh Singh, the jacket adorns Ajrakh block print handcrafted by National Award-winning craftsman, Abdul Jabbar Khatri and team.
“We started ideating in April. It took us three weeks to design and another three weeks to develop CoVest. It was challenging to find the right materials and technology in the lockdown, but we made it. In the recent editions, I have used handloom fabrics and traditional textile printing, which helped in giving a sustainable livelihood to our artisans,” adds Singh, a National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) graduate, ex-professor at National Institute of Design (NID), Ahmedabad.
“The jacket has a wrinkle-free ViroBan finish fabric from N9 Technologies Pvt. Ltd and fragrance finish from Resil. The outer fabric offers protection from virus, and the inside lining gives fragrance to de-stress the wearer in such depressing times. People forget or misplace their masks, so in CoVest, the mask is the collar. You can detach, wash, and reuse this mask made from high-density polyester,” adds Singh. CoVest can only be dry cleaned. Do not iron its faux leather and wired parts.
Remove the battery before laundering to avoid short-circuit. CoVest has SD sensors that offer proximity alerts to maintain social distancing.
“The 360-degree sensor rings an alarm if the person enters this proximity. Its in-built thermometer tracks your body temperature. The magic pockets sanitise your personal belongings like watch, sunglasses, wallets, car keys, and handkerchiefs, with its UV rays,” informs Singh, who has many patents – Paunch Proof, IShops, Fashion Clinics, and Folding Helmets – to his credit.
“We need to be sustainable. It shouldn’t be that in order to save humanity from the pandemic we end up flooding the ecosystem with fabric, PPE kits and other chemicals, and damage it,” Singh concludes.
Price: Rs 4,999 onwards
Availability: soin.in
CoVest Trivia
The Ajrakh print CoVest jacket has SD sensors that offers social distancing proximity alerts and an in-built
thermometer.