Designer Sells Masks Made out of Sneakers – for $5000 Dollars. Now You Can Make Them for Free

In light of the coronavirus pandemic, famous Chinese designer Zhijun Wang decided to develop and share a free template for anyone who wants to make their own stylish masks using just about any fabric they can find.

Wang began making masks out of sneakers and other products with naturally flexible and breathable materials in 2014, which quickly became an artistic success – with one of his masks made from a Yeezy 350 v2 getting acquired by the Museum of Modern Arts. Today, each of his masks costs $5,000, but the COVID-19 situation has led him to share a complementary new template to the public, inspired by his sneaker masks, called Maskology: Everyone Can Make a Mask.

“My sneaker mask is about getting the young generation to rethink the relationship between the mask and environment in a different way, awakening people to make some changes,” says Wang. “The mask becomes a sort of essential accessory we cannot live without when people start making it more fashionable … like scarves and gloves.”

The designer’s decision to share some of the tools behind his own mask designs comes in an effort to promote public health through high fashion, marking it a unique approach in comparison to the other free mask templates available online.