044 Buckle Masks

Designed by: Lu Xu and Zihan Zhang
Date: March 2020
Credit: ABOVE


Above Studio has designed the Buckle Mask to tackle two key issues with masks today: their life life expectancy and means of disposal. The Buckle Mask is part of the series Create Cures (CC), a collaboration between multiple Chinese designers formed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Buckle Masks have a built-in white filter which gradually turns black as it absorbs dust and bacteria. Once the filter has turned black, this signals that it needs to be changed. The four different shades are printed along the edge the ventilation hole, so that the user can easily which stage of life the filter is in and whether or not it needs to be replaced.