BENGALURU: Although air quality is deteriorating with time, Bengalureans have come up with a way to tackle the situation in style. There has been a surge in sale of respiratory masks/pollution masks both in e-commerce portals and regular brick-and-mortar stores.
Students in different colleges have become trend setters by wearing quirky pollution masks that go well with their clothes. For instance, they prefer wearing Vogmask made of vegan leather, even though they are expensive. Others wear masks with bright pop colours and patterns, which are unusual from the typical green and blue clinical masks.
Flaunting her paisley and star-printed mask, Ananya Shekhar, student of Jyoti Nivas College, said, “I have a big collection of pollution masks. Some are butterfly-printed, while others have simple checks or are beautifully patterned. I was the first girl in my class to wear these masks and soon, I saw others wearing them to college. It feels great to be a trend setter.”Sonam Lepcha of Kristu Jayanti College also follows the same trend. She prefers denim, crowns and patchwork masks. “If we must save ourselves from polluted air, then why go for gloomy-looking clinical masks? I have a collection of 16 masks,” she said.
Designer masks are not just limited to students. Tenzin Zangchup, a content creator based in the city, said, “I have four designer masks. Though they range from `2,000 to `2,800, they are worth every penny and also add to the fashion quotient.” Since everyone cannot afford the designer masks, there is a group of students in Mount Carmel College who make their own masks. “We make our own masks to keep ourselves away from the dust. I have started making them a year back and my friends love them. They serve the purpose too,” says Vidya Sharan, a student.