PPE Hat

Original Concept Sketch & Design Notes

Process & Demo Video

The design for this reversable hat and detatchable veil is rooted in the idea of comprimise. I created it while quarantining in my hometown, Knoxville, Tenessee, during the hight of the pandemic. I witnessed stark divides between American attitudes in my own community when the practice of wearing personal protective equipment, particularly facial masks, was politicized. Though I was firmly on the mask-wearing side of things, the dissonance between my feelings towrd unmasked familiar faces versus those of strangers motived me to look for the illusive middle ground no one else seemed to really want.

My hope was that by designing PPE empathetic to anti-maskers’ fears, the product would be able to serve as a gateway to more changes at best and would be better than nothing otherwise. While many people refused to have what they wore dictated by new standards, which they veiwed as suspicious and controlling, they where generally happy to comply with standards based on cultural social norms, which they comforably abided by and often actively enforced. I aimed to connect my PPE to previous protective Western fashion norms through hats to create a familiar feeling object. This design is reminiscent of the bonnets women of my Grandmother’s generation used to wear whenever they were outside to protect their faces from the sun. Ideally, it would be worn in tandom with a mask and serve as another layer of protection when eating and drinking, as shown below.

Music Credits: “It Hurts” by the Bad Bad Hats

Cotton and Vinyl, 2020