The Next Best Thing To Being Cloned. A Frighteningly Lifelike 3D Mask Of Your Face.

These realistic full sized face masks are truly incredible likenesses. So much so that they most likely will creep you out while simultaneously amazing you. Making full use of a technology called Three-Dimension Photo Form (3DPF), Real-f - short for REALFACE- of Japan will create an exact duplicate of your mug in the form of a hard plastic mask within a relatively short time and at an affordable price.

Below is a model holding the mask in front of her real face:

And the model holding the mask next to her own face:

Close-up details of the mask:



Osamu Kitagawa (shown below with his own mask), who established REAL-f in June of 2011, spent a couple of years developing the products after leaving Dainippon Screen Mfg.Co.,Ltd. ("Screen") in 2009. During the interviews of "Human Copy Machine" which was developed by himself at the former company, he desired "Not a flat copy like a poster but a three-dimensional copy to be realized -- " and decided to start REAL-f with technique called "Three-dimension Photo Form"




The 3DPF technique makes it possible to duplicate pores, eye's blood vessels and iris exactly the same as the originals. Details like eyebrows, stubble and eyelashes are the impeccable.






In about two hours (one for photographing the subject and one for taking an impression of the face) the REALFACE mask will be complete. They keep the original mold for a period of time during which you can order more without the initial set-up cost. The original can then be sent to the customer or destroyed depending upon their preference. Delivery time of the mask is about two weeks.



Because the REALFACE mask is made of a hard plastic, the lips cannot move, therefore showing teeth is not possible. They can create holes where there eyes are so that you can see when wearing the mask.




Basic rates includes taking photos and impressions of face, producing the original model and photo image correction. For the first one, they charge you for basic rates and production fee of the REALFACE mask. The cost is 300K JPY (about $3700 USD) for the basic rate + the first mask and 60K JPY  ($740 USD) for the second one and upward.

Although they can ship anywhere, the process can only occur at their shop in Japan located at 25-17-513 6-chome, Shimo-Sakamoto, Otsu City, Shiga pref. Japan, 520-0105.

Real-F had intended to begin creating full heads with this process, but have ceased that project in order to pursue creating a 'soft' version of the mask, not yet available.

all images courtesy of REAL-f



Real-F

Millinery Gone Mad. Wild Hats, Headbands, Masks and More by Piers Atkinson.

Romantic, tropical, alluring, mysterious, macabre... I could go on and on with adjectives when it comes to describing the imaginative millinery and head gear by Piers Atkinson.



Every style and genre from sweet and sexy to outrageous and irreverent, Piers's hats, masks, headbands and berets are wearable art. Made with unusual materials like neon, found objects, giant bugs, gold-plated spikes, even barbie dolls, his hats are head-turning fashions that warrant a closet of their own. Take a look at some of these hats, balaclava (ski masks), headbands and more from the past few seasons.

A few selections from his most recent Spring /Summer 2012 "Hot Voodoo" Collection:




Selections from the Autumn/ Winter 2011 "Paris" Collection:






The neon hats were made with the help of icneon and the above left hat with Andrew Logan

A few selections from the Spring/Summer 2011 "La Belle Au Bois" Collection:





A few selections from the Autumn/ Winter 2010 "It Is Later Than You Think" Collection:



And finally, a few wild and wacky ones from Autumn/Winter 2009 "The Frog and The Princess" Collection:




About Piers Atkinson:
Piers Atkinson has worn nearly as many hats as he’s made. Artist, illustrator, milliner, costume designer, party organiser, fashion editor and now DJ! – his creative energies only seem to be matched by an insatiable curiosity.


Photography by Thomas Lohr
He grew up in Norfolk with three generations of women – his mother, the theatrical milliner Hilary Elliott, at whose knee he learned hat-making; his sister Lucy, the long-suffering photographic model for his teenage reconstructions of Grace Jones and Art of Noise record covers; and his grandmother, the artist / writer / horticulturalist and illustrator Lesley Gordon, from whom he took his multi-disciplinary cue.

After studying graphic design and photography at the University of Bristol (where Stephen Jones made a brief but memorable visit to his grad show), Piers moved in 1995 to London. He helped out at that year’s Alternative Miss World, the brainchild of artist Andrew Logan, now an occasional collaborator and constant inspiration to Piers: ‘He helped me see the rich possibilities of free-form events and a ‘just do it’ attitude.’

In 1999, Piers started with iconic fashion designer Zandra Rhodes, whom he assisted with art direction and in-house PR. ‘She instantly cured my conservative approach to colour!’ says Piers. When Rhodes became a client of PR powerhouse Mandi Lennard, Piers took a post there assisting Mandi, who gave him many of her unique insights into the fashion world.

Piers launched his first collection of hats in February 2008 and has created collections every season since. He has collaborated with designers Ashish, Ashley Isham and Noki for runway presentations and has dressed such celebrities as Anna Dello Russo, Kate Moss, Lady Gaga, Rihanna, Kelis, Cate Blanchett and Paloma Faith. The Princesses of York and Dame Shirley Basey have worn his hats at Ascot and he has had pieces in the V&A’s ‘Hats: an Anthology by Stephen Jones’ and ShowStudio’s exhibition ‘The Café’.

Piers’s creations regularly appear in the pages of Vogue, Italian Vogue, V Magazine, Tatler and the London broadsheets. His hats are available across the globe – from Sister in Japan to Fenwick’s in London, via Joyce in Hong Kong and Alan Journo’s famous store in Milan.


all images and information courtesy of Piers Atkinson