Who says functional can’t be fashionable? Here are some Aussie companies making face masks – from luxe, silk styles, to high-visibility coverings and make-your-own options – ranging from $10 to $85.
If your choice of mask is sold out, check back again in a couple of days (most of the companies listed below are restocking regularly) or contact the supplier direct.
Morgan & Taylor
Millinery and accessories label Morgan & Taylor made the leap into face masks in 2020, and have a wide variety of reusable masks, whether you're a minimalist or love a good floral print. Three-packs are $39.95.
The Social Studio
Currently sold out
Part fashion school, part clothing label, Melbourne not-for-profit The Social Studio has been powered by the style, skill and hard work of young people from Melbourne’s new refugee and migrant communities for the past 10 years. It’s selling reusable face masks – in a range of bright colours and sizes – at cost price. Each one is made up of three layers of breathable, machine-washable fabrics, so they’re both protective and comfortable. $12 each. Shop online here.
Shhh Silk
A Melbourne-based label that originated in silk bed accessories like pillowcases and eye masks, Shhh Silk is producing silk face masks – a god-send if you find cotton a bit scratchy on your face. $50, including a silk scrunchie.
Gorman
The womenswear label known and loved in Australia is stocking face masks for $10. Our favourites? The gingham collection.
Honest Studios
Run by a mother-and-daughter duo, this Melbourne-based fashion label uses natural fibres to make simple garments for all ages, shapes and sizes. Its range of stylish, reversible face masks is created from offcuts of patterned fabric from the Fitzroy studio. The masks are washable and have a contoured shape, which you can alter with a bendable wire that sculpts over the bridge of your nose. $25 each. Available online.
Bonds
Currently sold out
Australian underwear fave Bonds started producing face masks when most of the country was in lockdown. Its three-pack will set you back just $5.
E Nolan
Melbourne designer Emily Nolan has (briefly) shifted her focus from custom-made suits to face masks, with plain and patterned designs available. The masks are made with double-layered cotton and a malleable wire to fit to your nose. $23 to $25. Available online.
Obus
This Aussie womenswear label is making reusable masks in a variety of vibrant colours and patterns. Masks are made from existing clothing materials and three layers of fabric, and are available in adults and kids’ sizes. You’ll be sent a design at random – think of it as a lucky dip. $20 and available online.
Hey Reflect’o
Hey Reflect’o has always blurred the line between function and fashion with its range of high-visibility vests for cyclists (and their dogs). Now, owner Lisa Penney is moving into the mask market. Penney hand-sews every mask to order from her studio at Adelaide artist hub The Mill. “They went boom in the first two weeks of the [first] lockdown,” she says – she sold 150 masks the first day she put them online. Penney uses her own double-layered design. “I make each mask from sustainable hemp, and [the] outer layer [is made from] recycled offcuts and fabric seconds I had left over from making vests,” she says. Twelve styles are available, all with the signature Hey Reflect’o heat-bonded reflective pieces for extra visibility at night. They’re also printed with a motif of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. She recommends a 60-degree machine wash to kill all the bugs. $29. Order online.
Yarli Creative
Yorta Yorta, Dja Dja Wurrung and Gamilaroi artist Madison Connors has designed a range of masks with her prints and paintings. They’re made with ethical inks and soft, quick-drying materials by a small family business in NSW. Each mask has three layers of protection, and serves as a visual show of support to First Nations People. $35. Order online.
Gail Sorronda
Renowned Brisbane fashion designer Gail Sorronda has added a line of face masks (dubbed Serious Flowers) to her range. Available in black and white and a range of sizes, the masks have a double layer of cotton, an embroidered double-mesh net outer, and elastic ribbon ties. $44.44. Available online.
Kloke
Melbourne women’s and men’s fashion label Kloke is known for its comfort and functionality. That extends to its range of 100 per cent woven cotton face masks. They’re reusable, washable and come with adjustable elastic ear loops. $25 to $32. Shop online.
White Story
In addition to its timeless, ready-to-wear fashion pieces, this Melbourne-made luxury label is making face masks by hand at its Cremorne studio. The four-layer masks are cut from hypoallergenic Belgian linen. $45. Available online.
Kuwaii
A go-to for graceful, feminine fashion, Melbourne label Kuwaii is using surplus fabric to make reusable – and machine-washable – face masks. Each one has three layers and a pocket for a filter. $25. Shop online.
K-Lee Design
K-Lee Design’s Karen de Aizpurua usually works with sequins and spandex, sewing custom dancewear and swimwear, gymnastics leotards and bodybuilding trunks. They’re garments that are designed to show off the body, not cover it up. De Aizpurua says she started making masks to “keep the surgical masks with our frontline workers who need them to take care of us.” Her masks come in an “everyday style for the everyday person”. They’re made from bamboo fabric, which she says is ideal for this purpose: “It’s antibacterial, hypoallergenic, luxuriously soft [and] has moisture-wicking and thermos-regulating properties”. $14.50. Available online.
St Ali
St Ali is used to supplying Melburnians with some of the best coffee in town. When the pandemic hit, it started selling hand sanitiser and face masks from copper anti-microbial materials, woven together with hemp using 3D knitting technology. $10. Available online.
Megan Park
Womenswear label Megan Park is now turning fabric offcuts from previous collections into face masks. The handmade masks, available in sizes for kids and adults, are made of 100 per cent cotton and silk-cotton. Each one is double-sided and has a pocket that can hold a disposable filter. Two for $35. Available online.
Second Stitch
Second Stitch is a Melbourne-based, not-for-profit social enterprise that champions the extensive skills of people from refugee, migrant and asylum-seeking backgrounds. The collective usually produces handmade homewares, accessories and bags, but it’s added machine-washable fabric face masks to its repertoire. The masks come in two sizes and are made with 100 per cent tightly woven cotton in a range of two-tone and gingham colourways. Included with each mask are two pieces of elastic – just tie a knot for the perfect fit. And there’s an additional lining so you can slide in a generic filter if required. $15. Available online.
Collective Closets
Melbourne label Collective Closets makes conscious women’s clothing in vibrant prints and classics cuts. Its range of face masks are cut from dead-stock fabrics and are machine-washable. There are two options available: three layers of 100 per cent cotton, or two layers of cotton with an outer layer of wool-look fabric. $20. Shop online – the label is restocking regularly.
Sisterworks
Currently sold out
Sisterworks is a not-for-profit organisation supporting women from refugee, migrant and asylum-seeking backgrounds by providing work and empowerment through commerce. The group operates hubs in Bendigo, Richmond and Dandenong where women can attend a range of programs, all focused on “learning by doing”. When the coronavirus lockdown forced the hubs to close, the group began thinking about ways it could maintain its activities so that community members – who are among the most vulnerable people in Australia – could still earn an income. The masks Sisterworks produces are simple enough to be made from home, keeping “sisters” employed while social distancing. They’re made from donated cotton fabric and loose-weave muslin, with a pocket to insert an extra filter layers. $14 to $20. Shop online.
Papinelle
Currently sold out
For something a little more luxe, Sydney sleepwear label Papinelle is selling pure silk masks. “Using silk provides a chic alternative to standard masks and also has the added benefit of being sustainable, washable and reusable,” says Papinelle founder Renae James. The masks are made using silk remnants sourced from Papinelle’s regular suppliers. They also have a pocket for inserting a filter. $39.95 each. Shop online.
Clear Collective
Clear Collective originally started producing masks in NSW in 2019 so people living in bushfire-affected regions could move around more safely outside. Now the company is making masks that come in a variety of prints, colours and sizes to help curb the spread of Covid-19. (Be sure to order a no-valve mask – masks with valves may be less effective at preventing the spread of coronavirus.) $44.95 to $59.95. Online.
Vault Active
These reusable masks are all-black – perfect for a winter wardrobe. $22.90. Available online.
Copperline
This family-owned Aussie business is selling reusable face masks woven with 22 per cent copper yarn, which is purported to have antibacterial properties. The stretchy, form-fitting masks come in several colours (including navy, charcoal, pale pink and black) and four different sizes. $49. Available online.
Bizarre
This Adelaide-based lingerie business is making masks in either black mesh, red lace or beige lace, with a soft, breathable cotton inner lining. Each one is handmade, and you can get undies to match. $10. Shop online.
Kathmandu
The outdoor brand’s unisex, black face masks come in two sizes and are machine-washable. They’re made in New Zealand from merino wool, combining two types of yarn that work together to reduce the build-up of moisture and heat. $14.98. Available online.
This article was updated on June 25, 2021.
