Drawing inspiration from the past, whilst reflecting on the use of face masks in modern time, Architect Tosin Oshinowo and designer Chrissa Amuah have made the conceptual, jewelry-like Egaro face shield for this year’s Design Miami. Teaming up with car brand Lexus as part of the Freedom to Move project at Design Miami, both artists alongside a multitude of others were tasked to create a design in direct response to the unprecedented global events of 2020.

Tosin Oshinowo and Chrissa Amuah Bring The Earliest Form of HeadGear Back in Style

Dubbed ‘Breathe’, Tosin Oshinowo and Chrissa Amuah’s medieval mask comprises of two curved brass plates, decorated in a stencil design inspired by the pulmonary veins of the lungs, and is intended to reference African fractal rhythm and breathing. Worn like a headband, the face shield has a 3D-printed white nylon frame that extends in a cross over the front, whilst its vertical wave-shaped form is punctuated by two bars at the end.

Conceptualized and crafted in Lagos, Nigeria, where Oshinowo is based and runs her architecture studio, Egaro takes its name from the site at Termit in eastern Niger, where archaeological evidence confirms that Africa had independently invented its own iron technology 5,000 years ago. The mask thus celebrates the discoveries and advancement that originated in the continent.

Showcasing a total of three designs, including a transparent version of the Egaro constructed from acrylic and colored in bronze, both artists commenced this project with an aim of exploring the untapped potential of face masks as a fashion statement in contemporary life. Its other variations, known as Ògún, presents the transformation of a decorated bronze plate into a visor, and ‘Pioneer Futures’, which features an oversized pleated collar, in either leather or suede, that wraps around a transparent globe.

Oscillating between jewellery and fashion, these masks are available through online and in-person displays from 27 November to 6 December in the Miami Design District. With hints of elegance, ergonomics, and celebration, artists Tosin Oshinowo and Chrissa Amuah believe that their creations, “have been intentionally designed as beautiful objects that inspire desire, to be worn, (whilst looking back) at history and how the head has always been a focal point for adornment and protection.”