Melissa Pellone (Instagram @pellonedesignercollection) is one of the many Los Angeles based designers who turned her attention to making custom masks for their clients during the pandemic, as face masks are required when leaving the house in Los Angeles County. Melissa Pellone has shown her collections nine times at Los Angeles Fashion Week and designs red carpet looks.
Pellone began making masks as a way to help the frontline workers. She says that the surgical masks are ending up in the oceans, and masks a lot of other people are making are not safe. Her masks follow the guidelines and have a pocket for a filter insert. She states that she wanted something that would protect her family members and keep them safe. Her uncle is a pharmacist in a hospital, and her cousin is a new police officer.
She has a family member who passed away from Covid-19. “Maybe if she had one of my masks she wouldn’t have gotten sick” she says quietly. She began making the masks shortly after. After posting a photo of the masks she was making she says she began getting inundated with requests. Her masks sell for $18-$25 each and with each purchase, one to two masks are donated to frontline workers.
Pellone designs masks for men and women and will start making masks for children next week. Many of her clients are ordering the masks because they want chic, designs that are also safe.
By Jessy Dodd
