may bar levav introduces ‘air we wear’, a fashionable face shield collection designed sustainably with natural materials. drawing influence from the new post-pandemic reality, the colorful series aims to give an end to the extremely high consumption of single-use masks that harms the environment, with anyone who wears one of the ‘air we wear’ face covers, taking a part in making the world ‘a better place to breathe in’.

air we wear 1
‘australia fires’ mask
all images courtesy of may bar levav

 

 

the ecological crisis, and especially the air pollution that accompanies us for decades are now, is in significant decline since the outbreak of COVID-19. ‘on the negative side, an extremely high consumption of disposable products that are being used for dealing with the pandemic causes an enormous amount of polluting garbage,’ shares designer may bar levav. ‘nonetheless, the common masks that are being used nowadays and are supposed to prevent from contagious particles to move through air are actually made of plastic materials and are manufactured in ways that increase air pollution, isn’t that absurd?’. 

air we wear 4

 

 

with this in mind, the designer has worked on producing an environmentally friendly mask collection, which also neutralizes the inconvenient experience of wearing a face shield. the series is made with sustainably manufactured natural materials that are healthy for all types of facial skin. the design combines textile with three-dimensional elements, which will be used as a ‘home’ or a filter that can be inserted and removed in a way that assures multiple uses in the product.

air we wear 3
‘sea of plastic’ mask

 

 

meanwhile, the mask can accommodate a wide range of filters, for different levels of protection. may bar levav has cooperated with new zealand based company lanaco, which supplied filters made of natural sheep wool that stands with the world standard for air pollution protection.

air we wear 8
‘china factories’ mask

 

 

‘wearing masks and hiding our faces forces us to find new ways of interpersonal communication in order to empower our values and stories,’ mentions may bar levav.‘in my designs, along with textile and knitting techniques, each and every mask will portray one of the many key stories in the era of air pollution increase’. 

 

 

 

air we wear 9
‘oil spill mexico’ mask

air we wear 2
‘industrial revolution’ mask

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air we wear 6

air we wear 7

 

 

project info:

 

name: air we wear
designer: may bar levav

 

 

designboom has received this project from our ‘DIY submissions‘ feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

 

edited by: myrto katsikopoulou | designboom