A Chinese woman wears a face-kini as she gets wet before swimming on Aug. 22, 2014 on the Yellow Sea in Qingdao, China. The locally designed mask is worn by many local women to protect them from jellyfish stings, algae and the sun’s ultraviolet rays.
Here’s a piece of summer clothing that will haunt your dreams.
It’s called the “Facekini,” and it has been popular in Far Eastern cultures for years, according to NBC News. As you can see in the photos at the top of this page, it’s a warm-weather accessory that’s worn to the beach by middle-aged Chinese women to protect skin from the sun’s rays, the report adds.
And it’s all fine and well if this horrifying accessory stays overseas, but fashion designers in New York City want to bring it to the United States.
The fashion trade magazine CR Fashion Book recently released an issue that contains an eight-photo spread featuring models in these creepy cover-ups, NBC News also reported. They were paired with swimsuits from designers like Gucci, Alexander Wang, Emporio Armani and Michael Kors.
Because who wouldn’t want to deflect attention from their $1,000 swimsuit with a disturbing facecover?
With hotter summers and more sun exposure comes an increase in skin cancer cases, according to the CDC. Like it or not, these creepy masks might be invading American beaches before long.
