Syrian designer adds flair to face masks

Introducing: Face masks with flair

Location: Damascus, Syria

Fashion designer Zeina Halal

is creating personalized face maks

to add a bit of style

and encourage people to wear them

(SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) FASHION DESIGNER, ZEINA HALAL, SAYING:

"It is not about competition. For example, I am a person who finds breathing difficult with a face mask, I want something that would make me like to wear it, so that I can do it. This is what makes the masks I design different from those in the market. The way I use colors or the phrase you like to add to them or the name you choose, all of this encourages me to wear the face mask."

The cotton masks are customizable

through a machine that prints out sketches

as well as phrases onto the fabric

(SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) CLIENT, SAED, SAYING:

"The medical masks we find in the pharmacies are cheaper but they don't look nice and they bother me a lot. So when I found out they are making masks on which you can put your name, wash them and they are made of cotton, I wanted to try them. I think they are more fashionable and beautiful."