The global pandemic has definitely changed our lives forever, as it has caused us to literally fear for our health and lives. Aside from the threat to our physical bodies, our mental health has been affected too, and even our self-image in a way. Because suddenly last year, we’re all forced to wear uniform protective masks, so we just could not present ourselves the same way anymore in public. Suddenly we were walking with fear of the virus, our faces needed to be covered, and we could not just feel as great about ourselves the same way anymore.

Sisters Myka Gem Sy and Kyna Gem Sy immediately saw how wearing face masks was one of the biggest changes we had to deal in our daily lives, and how it could affect our morale.

“The pandemic really made a huge hit on our mental and emotional health, so we wanted to make an impact by creating beautiful masks that would make you feel beatiful and confident inside and out. Our vision is to offer fashionable protective masks that are still very effective to use, ” Myka Gem Sy,  founder of The Masq Collection, shared. “We started brainstorming about the brand and product development of The Masq Collection May 15 last year, and then launched the line by July 1.” 

Myka Gem Sy, founder of Masq Collection

“We were thinking, we ladies suddenly could not express ourselves through style anymore, not even through our lipsticks,” Kyna Gem Sy, co-founder of Masq, said. “It might sound not as important, but to us ladies, it’s important that we can still feel a sense of normalcy amidst the pandemic by being able to express ourselves through our style. And at a time like this, we can mostly do that through our protective face masks.”

Kyna Gem Sy, co-founder of Masq Collection
Kyna Gem Sy, co-founder of Masq Collection

Myka was aware that cloth masks, although fashionable, were not exactly seen as effective in the first months of the pandemic. “Last April 2020, people were doubtful of using cloth masks as protection, so we did a lot of research on how we can make it effective. We researched a lot and asked medical experts regarding which fabrics to use and how we would design the masks.”

The Masq Collection offers face masks for both adults and kids in Classic, Masq Limited, Masq Mini, Masq Air (sports masks)and the Masq MicroBLOQ collection, which already use antimicrobial fabric made with copper thread.

“We were quite surprised at the response of the people to our products. Some would even go as far as collecting as many face masks as they can get, and they would tag us on Instagram to show their own mask collection. It’s heartwarming that people have found a way to express themselves through our masks despite the chaos caused by this pandemic,” Kyna shared.

Indeed, fashion has that power to help feel good about ourselves and in a way, improve our self-image and mental health. The innovative fashion entrepreneurs have always breathed and lived for style, as it has been literally a part of their lives since forever. 

“Fashion has been a part of our family since I can remember. It began with my parents, who started manufacturing clothing. This also stemmed from my mother’s passion for fashion, which trickled down to myself and my sister’s,” Myka said. “My growing interest in fashion led me to enroll in fashion schools such as Slims and Fashion Institute of the Philippines. Coincidentally, my husband’s family business is also in fashion. Safe to say, my growth and love for fashion comes from home.”

Myka emphasized how Masq Collection advocates self-love too.

“Masq Collection was actually developed from the concept of self-love. Fashion is usually an outlet of self-expression, a way to make yourself feel good and stand out. However, when the pandemic hit, everyone looked uniform behind their face masks. No matter what you would wear last year, your identity was hidden behind uniform white and blue surgical masks. Masq Collection was created to restore that identity of self in style. We developed masks that met safety standards but also gave choices to fit your own sense of fashion that can make you feel better.”

Celebrating its first anniversary, Masq Collection is giving away special discounts until July 2! Check out these amazing deals:

You may shop the Masq Collection at www.themasqcollection.com, Shopee, Zalora and Lazada; and follow @TheMasqcollection on Instagram.