PLEASE SUPPORT W42ST
W42ST runs on limited resources to keep Hell’s Kitchen connected, updated and upbeat. Access is totally free. Please consider supporting what we do so that we can continue our work!
Governor Andrew Cuomo has moved from advising New Yorkers to #MaskUp to selling masks.
Working with his daughter Mariah Kennedy Cuomo, he’s partnering New York State with online retailer The RealReal and dozens of New York fashion designers to create limited edition “Made in New York” masks.
“It’s clear that masks help stop the spread and save lives,” said Cuomo. “We need to find creative ways to encourage people to wear masks. The Mask Up campaign leverages the creativity of the New York fashion community to help solve this public health challenge, while simultaneously raising funds for communities impacted by COVID-19. Take a look at the NY Tough masks and mask up. Together, we will beat this virus.”
The Mask Up campaign will run until the end of November. There will be a weekly drop of exclusive masks created by local designers, including Public School, Tanya Taylor, Nili Lotan, 3.1 Phillip Lim, Mara Hoffman, Prabal Gurung, Collina Strada, Jonathan Cohen, and Victor Glemaud.
Profits from the campaign will be donated to Feeding America, Nurse Heroes, and the New York COVID Relief Fund to help New Yorkers and Americans in need.
We asked locals about what they thought about the initiative from the Governor. “Mask wearing is our greatest weapon to fight the pandemic and will hopefully lead to the eventual return to some sort of “normal” life,” said Matt Fox from Fine and Dandy. “If this project from the Cuomos encourages people to wear masks, I’m all for it.”
“It’s not grassroots. It’s a well-marketed website with TV commercials reselling high-end merchandise. This looks like it does ‘support’ New York artists, with names and established business, not mom and pop or local startups,” said designer and activist Shareef Hadid Jenkins. “It’s definitely for high-income earners given that the low prices on The RealReal site are almost $500. The message behind it is good — get people excited again. I think the campaign is for the entire country less about NYC. We are doing pretty good with the mask-wearing!”
Along with the mask sale, there is an Instagram competition to take selfies with your mask. Post a mask selfie and share why you #MaskUp, and challenging five friends to do the same. Remember when W42ST did that back in June 😷?
