In 2012, « facekini » was almost everywhere in Qingdao beach, a city of China, and it has attracted global attention since then. A woman wearing a « facekini » told the New York Times: ‘I’m afraid of getting tanned. Women need good skin.’

When the world first saw facekini, some thought that it was a kind of ‘cagoule’, which connected to robbers. Later people realized that this was not a group of robbers going to rob the bank, but a group of middle-aged women going to the beach. Some insisted that it was too tasteless to accept facekini, and others held that it was like a Halloween custom and just laughed away. However, the « facekini » has not only increased its sales worldwide but also was accepted surprisingly by the world as a unique fashion element.

The facekini was first designed by Zhang Shifan to protect swimmers from jellyfish stings and skin damage caused by strong sunlight on the beach in 2004. Up to now, it has been upgraded to the eighth generation.

In the eighth generation, Zhang Shifan added the Chinese traditional elements to the facekini design.

Facekini has gradually entered people’s vision and even become a unique artistic and fashion element, which was regarded as ‘surreal Chinese fashion’ by foreign media. Philipp Engelhorn, a German photographer living in Hong Kong, went to Qingdao in 2014 to shoot a group of popular and award-winning ‘facekini’ themed photography works.

The unusual Chinese trend has also caught the attention of former Vogue Paris Editor, Carine Roitfeld. In August 2014, Carine Roitfeld published a summer swimsuit fashion blockbuster inspired by facekini on the magazine of ‘Cr fashion book’. In the photos, the model wore a facekini, which was matched with Gucci, Alexander Wang and Armani swimsuits, Bvlgari and David Yurman high-grade jewellery, standing by the swimming pool and putting out a variety of sexy postures.

Fashion icon Rihanna also likes facekini, and she chose to dress in it on the Coachella Music Festival, where superstars and supermodels gathered. It should be noted that Rihanna’s facekini came from the Gucci’s autumn and winter 2018 collection.

More than is, Rihanna appeared in the famous American fashion magazine ‘interview’ in June this year with a facekini, which lead to a heat discussion.

However, due to the occurrence of France’s ban on masquerading, that is to say, ‘no one is allowed to masquerade in public places, the scope of items including masks, helmets, Balaclava hats, burqa and other objects to completely cover the face in public areas’, so it may be impossible to match a facekini in France.

By_Una