She Invented the Facekini, China’s Most Infamous Beach Accessory
The facekini is a Chinese fashion phenomenon. A full-face mask that covers the entire head, it’s the ultimate protection against beachgoers’ worst enemy: the sun.
After debuting in China in 2004, it quickly garnered international attention for its quirkiness. We met the woman who invented it, Zhang Shifan, at her home in the seaside city of Qingdao.
We asked about the story behind her invention and why we don’t really see facekinis much anymore.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fYkHWwq1m_g
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3UO6M6ImcK4
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hH6MPvyipUA
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Producer and Host: Clarissa Wei
Videographer and Editor: Nicholas Ko
Mastering: Victor Peña
Music: Audio Network
#facekini #china #beach
After debuting in China in 2004, it quickly garnered international attention for its quirkiness. We met the woman who invented it, Zhang Shifan, at her home in the seaside city of Qingdao.
We asked about the story behind her invention and why we don’t really see facekinis much anymore.
If you liked this video, we have more stories about water sports, including:
The Sun Moon Lake Swim: Taiwan’s Swimming Carnival
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fYkHWwq1m_g
Riding the Indoor Surfing Wave in China
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3UO6M6ImcK4
Why the World’s Best Dragon Boaters Are Women Farmers
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hH6MPvyipUA
**FOLLOW US ON IG, TWITTER, AND FACEBOOK:
http://instagram.com/goldthread2
http://twitter.com/goldthread2
http://facebook.com/goldthread2
Producer and Host: Clarissa Wei
Videographer and Editor: Nicholas Ko
Mastering: Victor Peña
Music: Audio Network
#facekini #china #beach
Transcript
00:15The facekini is a Chinese fashion phenomenon.
00:18You might find people wearing these on beaches
00:21 to avoid the sun.
00:22And it was invented by this woman in 2004
00:25in the seaside city of Qingdao,
00:28and it’s her take on the balaclava
00:30like the one in this video.
00:32Let's go.
00:44Here’s how she came up with it.
01:11Eventually, the scuba diving hood evolved into this.
01:21In 2012, the facekini became known worldwide
01:25when Western media began covering it.
01:27In this 2017 piece,
01:29Vogue called it “a way of life for many.”
01:33But Zhang admits that some of her designs are a bit,
01:37well,
01:38unsettling.
02:16These facekinis can cost as low as $2 and up to $10 each.
02:21So we hit up a beach in Qingdao to look for the infamous facekini.
02:25We were convinced they’d be everywhere.
02:28But it turned out they were not.
03:43When I was talking to Zhang,
03:44she said that it was true that they only sold the facekini online
03:48and that she has trademarks on all of her designs.
03:51But when I asked her why we didn’t see any
03:53 facekinis on the beach,
03:54she basically told me that we were there at the wrong time.
04:19We couldn’t verify that claim,
04:21and though we didn't see any facekinis on the beach,
04:24we did see a lot of people covered up.
04:44Pale skin is the beauty standard in China
04:47and a lucrative one at that.
05:14However, Tai says that there are some people
05:16 who are starting to value tan skin,
05:19and that’s in part inspired by the hip-hop culture.
05:52However, most Chinese women
05:53still seem to see pale skin as the ideal,
05:57which is why the facekini is still such a viable product
06:00in the Chinese market.
06:13And as far as fads go,
06:15it seems like the facekini is either a fast-fading trend
06:19or maybe just a little too weird for the mainstream.