British south Asian designer creates mask for religious headgear wearers
“It began with my father-in-law,” says Sunnie Delilah, founder and designer of accessories brand, Delilah’s Dressing Room. “My father-in-law works in the public sector, specifically in transport and at the start of lockdown in March, he was provided with a mask from work but wasn’t comfortable with it because he had to hold it around his turban with string as his ears were tucked into his turban. He wasn’t confident wearing it either because it didn’t look good on him and he didn’t feel protected in it because his beard wasn’t fully covered so he asked me to help him.”
Already producing masks at the time for her brand, Sunnie decided to go into her studio and play around to see what she could come up with. Luckily he loved the design she created, calling it genius. But it wasn’t until Sunnie decided to put it up on the website, did she realise that her product was catering to a whole section of society that was underserved.
“It brought to light how many other people were struggling,” she says. “For example, Muslims who wear a hijab and anyone with a beard longer than chin length. So I carried on adapting the design to help different people.” Today, the brand offers a long mask with a head strap to wrap around the turban and a pocket at the bottom of the elongated mask to allow the wearer’s beard to be tucked in and therefore protected from virus droplets in the air, and a normal sized mask with a head strap for hijab wearers and individuals with hearing aids as the typical behind-the-ear straps often flick off.
Following an interview with BBC news, Sunnie’s designs have gone viral and people from all around the world have been putting in orders. “It was just supposed to be on local news but it got picked up for an international story and then other news outlets like CNN and Metro News started reporting on it. It was crazy,” Sunnie says. “Demand got so high I expanded my team and got more employees and staff to help me manufacture the face masks”. She explains, “it was also interesting to see how many orders we got from European countries like Belgium and Germany and it’s because many men there have long beards.”
Sunnie’s mask is now on permanent display at Birmingham Museum to highlight how people from Birmingham have adapted to help the community. “In the future, my grandchildren will be able to go and see what their grandma did and for future generations it will be a way to help them learn about the world at this time and how people had to adapt to be more inclusive and support everyone,” shares Sunnie. “And to think it started out because I wanted to help my family.”
It has changed how she thinks about the accessories she makes for Delilah’s Dressing Room and how she can make them more inclusive and functional. Now, she’s working on a new collection of headbands for boys because most headbands are designed for girls. In particular, a lot of children with cochlear implants struggle with headbands so Sunnie is working on headbands that fit around the implants.” Sunnie also tries to ensure that images on her website are inclusive, showcasing women of colour carrying her accessories whilst wearing both eastern and western clothing.
“It should just be normal to do that and to see that in fashion. I want to show women of different backgrounds, shapes and sizes because that’s who we are as people. Delilah’s Dressing Room is totally different from when I started in 2015 but that’s growth and I’m proud of it,” Sunnie says. You can purchase her accessories and inclusive masks here.