Just when you thought the face-kini couldn't be any more bizarre looking, new designs coming out in China just pushed it up a notch.
Face-kinis are stretchy headwear, similar to superhero masks, that cover nearly the entire face, save for little cut-outs for the eyes, nose and mouth.
They've been popularly seen on Chinese beaches over the past few years, but until recently, have only come in solid colours.
They used to look like this.
Credit: Xue hun/Imaginechina
But now these are becoming more common on beaches in China.
Credit: Zhang liwei/Imaginechina
Last year, the inventor of the face-kini, Zhang Shifan, started coming out with Beijing opera style designs. Now, other face-kini manufacturers in the country have quickly followed up by flooding the market with new patterns.
Some of these range from full body lizard suits, to turquoise leopard print and red tartan patterns.
Here are some designs available on Alibaba's Tmall:
Credit: liang qi water sports/tmall
Credit: LIANG QI WATER SPORTS/TMALL
Credit: LIANG QI WATER SPORTS/TMALL
Credit: LIANG QI WATER SPORTS/TMALL
Credit: LIANG QI WATER SPORTS/TMALL
Face-kinis are generally associated with older ladies in China who want to hit the beach without getting a tan. Tanned skin is not favoured in many Asian countries, where there is a huge market for beauty products promising fairer skin.
But it's not just about tanning. Some women have found that the full body suits are helpful as protection against jellyfish sand rough rocks, while other older ladies have said they appreciate being anonymous under the masks while they wear swimsuits out in public.
Female Chinese swimmers wearing facekinis featuring designs of traditional Peking Opera pose at a beach resort in Qingdao city, east China's Shandong province, 2 August 2015. What do Chinese women do when they want to go swimming but maintain their pearly-white complexion? They put on a mask made for the beach, and fondly known as a facekini. A pale complexion is highly prized as delicate and feminine in China while dark skin suggests tanning caused by farming the fields or other lowly, outdoor work. The facekini appeared in 2004 on the beaches of the coastal city of Qingdao, in response to demands for full protection from both the sun and from jellyfish stings. The inventor, former accountant Zhang Shifan, told she never imagined here mask would become so popular with about 30,000 of them sold over the past year. But there's a hitch. The masks scare children, Zhang said. "In the past, I really wanted to do everything I could to avoid scaring people," said Zhang, who owns her own swim-wear shop. She said she had considered a whole range of different colours but they all looked scary, so she decided to borrow the colourful face-paint designs of traditional Peking Opera. "So little children might not be so scared," she explained. Zhang is hoping her new line will add to her business which has been so successful that counterfeits have cropped up across the country.
Credit: Xue hun/Imaginechina
Chinese women wearing facekinis talk with each other at a beach resort in Qingdao city, east China's Shandong province, 28 August 2016. The eye-catching face-kini has released its 6.0 version this August in Qingdao, east China's Shandong province. According to Zhang Shifan, designer of the face-kini, her original intention was to prevent swimmers from getting hurt by jellyfish when she first invented the face-kini in 2004. The 6.0 version, themed with the 10 most endangered species such as giant panda, Chinese alligator and Siberian tiger, aims to raise public awareness of endangered species. "I will keep designing and try to make it a fashion icon both at home and abroad," said Zhang.
Credit: Zhang liwei/Imaginechina
Younger people on Weibo have expressed a wide range of reactions to the face-kini, from amusement to disgust. Most, however, say they've grown accustomed to the sight of "aunties" donning the face-kinis.
One popular comment from an Amanda Pong with 404 likes, said: "Even as a young person, I want to try one on."
Another commenter, Du Yu Liu, said: "I don't understand why foreigners say this looks strange. If the aunties in China want to wear this, I think it's worthy. Nobody's forcing you to wear one."
Lucha libre at the beach.
Credit: Zhang liwei/Imaginechina
