Photos: Masks are the New Fashion Item at the Venice Film Festival, and They’re Really Cool
The Venice Film Festival looks a little different this year. Actually, it looks a lot different. With temperature checks and
Ivy Griffith
The Venice Film Festival looks a little different this year. Actually, it looks a lot different. With temperature checks and social distancing encouraged, the organizers hope to prevent any occurrence of COVID-19 spread. But that’s not the only new thing to arrive. This year, celebrities arrive wearing masks designed to complement their outfits, and some of them are really cool looking.
The Festival looks different this year
FoxNews shares some of the changes made as the Festival opens, “The world’s oldest film festival opened Wednesday under a slew of COVID-prevention protocols, with the few A-list celebrities making the trip wearing face masks and the general public largely absent.
Paparazzi, who in past years rented boats to chase stars as they crossed the lagoon to the Lido, filmed the opening arrivals from special, socially distanced spots along the red carpet. Masked guards took temperatures at nearly every turn, and no jostling, crowding or cramming was allowed.
It’s all part of the measures imposed by Venice organizers to try to safely host the first major in-person festival of the COVID-19 era when others canceled or went online. That the festival is happening at all is significant, given Italy was the first country in the West to be hit hard by the virus.”
Some celebrities opt for simple and chic
Some of the celebrities arrived sporting masks in basic black or white, complementing the color of their outfits. While sleek and understated, they nonetheless send an important message to fans who can appreciate their dedication to wearing masks to slow the spread of COVID-19. Hollywood legend Cate Blanchett switched between plain surgical masks and sleek cloth masks. Other masks spotted in the audience were sequined or patterned, with some sporting floral masks.
Others opted for ostentatious
Actress Tilda Swinton is photographed holding a carnival mask during a photo op as she has removed her cloth mask to pose. The carnival mask is gorgeous, looking like a gold metal butterfly. Swinton absolutely slays in everything she wears, and masks are apparently no different.
Principe Maurice wore a futuristic chain-mail like mask that turned heads everywhere he went.
The Festival is a risk
As much of Europe is gripped by a second wave of the coronavirus pandemic, opening the Festival in hard-hit Italy is a risk. But organizers consider it a calculated risk. According to FoxNews, “‘We feel the responsibility [of] being the first one. We know the festival of Venice will be a sort of test for everybody,’ said festival director Alberto Barbera. ‘We worked a lot on strict plans of safety measures to ensure that everybody who attended the festival would be safe until the end. And if it works like we hope, everybody can learn from our experience.’”