A Japanese retailer has come up with the idea of hyper-realistic face masks. They are modelled on a stranger’s features in three dimensions. Shuhei Okawara’s masks will lend you the exact appearance of an unidentified Japanese adult whose features have been embed on it. But it will not protect you from coronavirus.
Reportedly, Okawara chose his model, from more than 100 applicants who sent him their photos. He paid the model 40,000 yen for it. An artisan then reworked the image, created on a 3D printer. The masks will go on sale early next year for 98,000 yen ($950) apiece. This will be sold at the retailer’s Tokyo shop, Kamenya Omote, whose products are popular as accessories for parties and theatrical performance.
Speaking to Reuters Okawara said, “Mask shops in Venice probably do not buy or sell faces. But that is something that’s likely to happen in fantasy stories. I thought it would be fun to actually do that.”
He added, “As is often the case with the customers of my shop, there are not so many people who buy (face masks) for specific purposes. Most see them as art pieces.”
Shuhei Okawara plans to gradually add new faces also some from overseas, to the lineup.
Do you want to wear a mask that makes you look like an unidentified Japanese person?
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