BENGALURU: When Zain Zubair Jaffer got married on June 16, he ensured that in addition to his outfit being top notch, his mask too matched his overall look. Jaffer decided to sport a designer mask. “Since it is a mandatory requirement, we decided that it had to be planned just like the rest of the look,” says the real estate and automobile businessman. In this peak season of weddings, many Bengalureans are opting for designer masks, especially tailor-made for their D-Day. Embellishments with Swarovski crystals, pearls, beadwork, embroidery are trending.
Designer Sarita Mandoth is creating masks for every function of a wedding. “Masks are customised to suit the haldi, mehendi, sangeet and main event,” she says, adding that invites are also going out with masks, which are now doubling as return gifts. “While the numbers may have reduced, people still want to keep the same touch to the wedding. It’s not only important that the mask is comfortable but should also be trendy,” she says about her initiative called ‘ProtectU by Mandoth’.
According to designer Bassam Osman, requests for masks for both brides, grooms and their families have been on the rise. “It’s the need of the hour and something that has to be planned in advance just like the main outfit so it matches the overall look,” says Osman, who runs Studio Bassam on Cunningham Road. In addition, brocade masks with a cotton lining that match the sherwani are popular among men at this point in time. “We’re also designing masks with the bride/groom’s name on it,” he says.
Seema Malhotra who runs Shimmer in UB City finds Indian fabrics and weaves – ikkat, bandani, tie and dye – a great canvas to make masks. Talking about her latest collection, Naqaab, she says, “As a bride, it’s important that the mask doesn’t take away from the overall look. It needs to flatter the face without looking like a muzzle. To make it look sleek, we carefully construct the cut and give the right curve under the eye,” says Malhotra. She adds that with only the eyes being visible now, masks, particularly for weddings, need to add a little bit of drama without taking away from the rest of the look. Currently working on orders from New York to Chennai, Malhotra points out that wedding photographs are to preserve, and you won’t want your mask to make or break the look.