Samiraboon's "Get Well Soon" masks

The panicked hype over H1N1 might be drawing to a close, but flu season is far from over and it’s not too late to protect yourself from illness with a vaccination.  Alternatively, you could don a stylish surgical mask shaped like the mouth of a Hanshin Tiger.

Samiraboon, a Japanese textile company, jumped on the swine flu bandwagon and created a line of anti-flu masks designed to be a little more exciting than the usual green, blue, and white varieties. The masks are made of sterile white gauze and feature both human and animal faces. There’s even a zippered mask that makes removal before eating unnecessary.

While Samiraboon’s masks have unique prints, their overall design – a boring rectangle – isn’t that exciting. Japanese artist Yoriko Yoshida’s masks, however, are a completely different story.  Her masks are designed to fit the contours of the human face, and feature a wide variety of illustrations such as “The Mask of Octopus Beard” and “The Mask of Mt. Fuji.” Unfortunately Yoshida’s designs are only conceptual, but I’m keeping my fingers crossed for a Samiraboon/Yoshida collaboration.

Yoriko Yoshida's "The Mask of Octopus Beard"

Yoriko Yoshida's "The Mask of the Rising Sun"

Yoriko Yoshida's "The Mask of Skull"

Yoriko Yoshida's "The Mask of Wild Boar"

Yoriko Yoshida's "The Mask of Mt. Fuji"

Yoriko Yoshida's "The Mask of Beauty"