These three high-fashion masks are the safest (and most fashionable) ever made<

FashionIn particular thanks to their patented filtration technology ten times more efficient than the highest European standard FFP3. And they are signed by the Aouadi house in collaboration with the R-PUR label.

By Ninon Gleyse

After having signed the second part of its collaboration with Marine Serre, it is alongside the Aouadi house that the R-PUR label once again puts its technology at the service of fashion. A fashion with 100% haute couture impulses born this time under the pencil of Yacine Aouadi. It was after having cut his teeth as a stylist at Balmain that the designer decided in 2015 to found his eponymous label. There followed a flying start with a collection presented under the nave of the Grand Palais, whose creations were able to seduce starred personalities such as Cate Blanchett, Kirsten Dunst, or Rooney Mara. Since then, the Marseille designer has combined the art of detail and sophisticated silhouettes, the looks of which he now models on three futuristic masks imagined with R-PUR.

Aouadi signs here a clever mix of craftsmanship and technicality

Between feathers, embroidery and avant-garde lines, these three exclusive models make the traditional sanitary essential an ultra-coveted couture object. Handcrafted by renowned craftsmen, these unique pieces will be the subject of an auction organized from February 22 to 28, the profits of which will be entirely donated to the Fondation des Hôpitaux. On this occasion, Yacine Aouadi took part in the Vogue questionnaire game and reveals the secrets of making this unprecedented collaboration.

What are the real motivations of this project and what did you start from? “At the end of the first confinement, we were amazed, like most of us I imagine, to see how the mask had become an everyday object overnight. It is on the basis of this observation that it seemed relevant to us to associate the highest degree of sophistication represented by the know-how of haute couture crafts with the high technicality of R-PUR connected masks. From our first exchanges, it became clear to us following the collective isolation that we experienced, that this project only made sense if it was purely charitable: a testimony of union and solidarity.

How did you manage to reconcile the couture aspect with an inherent sanitary dimension? “That was the whole creative challenge of this project. Succeeding in combining materials and ornaments as delicate as hand embroidery, lace, and feathers with materials and technical constraints such as stretch, water-repellent and breathable technology, which make the specificity of R-PUR masks. This challenge was met thanks to the unique talent of the various fine crafts workshops that contributed to this project, and to the technological expertise of R-PUR, in particular its patented filtration technology ten times more efficient than the highest standard. European FFP3.”

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These three models were made in the wake of a haute couture heritage. What were the crafts that took part in their creation? “We naturally called on the crafts with which we usually shape our collections, the Vermont embroidery workshop, the feather-maker Lemarié, Sophie Hallette lace and the nimble fingers of the Atelier Caraco. It is this chain of solidarity that has made it possible to carry out this project intended to pay tribute to health personnel.”

Cœur Ardent, Noeud Radieux, Blanche Colombe: what were the inspirations behind these masks? “Behind the design and the names given to these 3 masks, there is a message of hope, humanity and unity symbolized by universal acronyms such as the dove, the heart and the knot, which also refer to haute couture classics.”

These are carefully displayed on a base, itself protected by a transport case like works of art. Were they really designed to be worn? "That was the whole objective of this project, to make masks faithful to the haute couture tradition, with attention to detail at heart, while being wearable and protective for their future buyers."

Fashion has continued to evolve lately. Is this a way of proving that haute couture is not incompatible with the major issues of our society? “Beyond this project, I would even be led to think that the nature of haute couture has never philosophically reflected the aspirations of our society so well as it currently does: giving time to time, favoring quality over quantity, singularity to standardization, timelessness to seasonality. Finally, I remain convinced that haute couture contributes to making our daily lives better while conveying a message of dreams and beauty, what could be more essential today?

More details about the auction on r-pur.com

See also on Vogue.fr:Spring-Summer 2021 haute couture: the collections in videosChanel: the first images of the Spring-Summer 2021 haute couture collection

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