WHY TECH'S LATEST FASHION ACCESSORY IS A FACE MASK
By Leslie Nguyen-Okwu
These days, being online can feel like living in a glass house. According to a 2016 report from Georgetown Law’s Center on Privacy and Technology, about half of all U.S. adults can be found in one of the many facial recognition databases maintained by law enforcement. But never fear — there are ways to game the system. In an age when privacy often feels more like a luxury than a civil right, a creative cadre of artists, designers and makers are fashioning a new kind of camouflage for today’s intrusive digital era.
The privacy strategy of the photobomber, which retails for $288, revolves around glass nanospheres embedded in the fabric that reflect light in every direction, leaving your face eerily backlit and indiscernible, says Chris Holmes, a DJ who designed the cowled garb back in 2015. In London, designer Saif Siddiqui sews crystal spheres into an anti-paparazzi scarf ($362) that, like the hoodie, reflects camera flashes to obscure the wearer’s face. Austrian Wolf Prix brought Harry Potter’s invisibility cloak to life as the Jammer Coat; it incorporates metallic fabrics that can block radio waves, cellphone signals and tracking devices, providing off-the-grid anonymity even while the wearer is strolling busy city streets.
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| Betabrand’s Flashback Photobomber Hoodie is coated with reflective glass nanospheres that thwart smartphone flash photos. | SOURCE COURTESY OF BETABRAND |
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