Facekini inventor considers patent protection move
By Zhang zhao (China Daily)
Updated: 2014-08-27

A 58-year-old woman from Qingdao became famous overnight, after she was revealed as the inventor of the facekini, which made waves in the international fashion community.

Zhang Shifan said she was considering applying for a patent after photos of elegant models wearing facekinis were released by CR Fashion Book magazine.

The former accountant learnt to sew when she was young and started working in a water sports equipment store managed by her husband when she retired in 2006.

In 2004 Zhang designed a swimming suit that protected against jellyfish stings.

"Swimmers in the seas of Qingdao were often stung by jellyfish and if they got poisoned the stings would leave scars," she explained in an interview with Guangzhou Daily.

Zhang licensed a factory in Guangzhou to manufacture the anti-jellyfish suits in 2005. She later realized that the danger of jellyfish stings still existed because the suit failed to protect the user's face, so she designed a mask based on diving caps and ski masks. This marked the first generation of the facekini.

"They were sold at 35 yuan ($5.7) each, which was very expensive back in the year of 2006," Zhang said. "Many people would rather make one themselves using old swim suits than buy one in my store."

Although the product did not initially sell well Zhang made several improvements to make it more comfortable and fashionable. Today's facekini is the third-generation product, she said.

It took Zhang two years to sell 500 of the earliest masks, but now she sells more than 3,000 of the latest facekinis every summer.

The inventive woman said it was "a pity" that her facekini prototype was thrown away as she never imagined how popular it would become.

The facekini and the anti-jellyfish swimming suit are just two of Zhang's many inventions. She designed gloves and socks for winter swimming and sold them online but none of her products are covered by patents.

"I thought if they became patented fewer people would use them and I would have to worry about protecting them every day," she said. "So I decided to let all the world use them for free."

Zhang's low profile raised questions among some people who doubted if the products were really her own inventions. The remarks made her angry and she told local newspaper Peninsula Urban Daily that she was the first to have the idea of the facekini, to design it, to license a factory to manufacture it and to sell it on the market.

"Maybe I should file a patent application this time for the facekini," she said.

The facekini was first made known to the world in 2012 when Reuters posted photos of middle-aged women wearing them on the beach in Qingdao. The pictures were selected in a collection of "the most astonishing photos" by Time magazine in the same year.

zhangzhao@chinadaily.com.cn

 Facekini inventor considers patent protection move

Swimmers wear facekinis in the sea. The invention designed by Qingdao native Zhang Shifan is popular with local residents. Wang Haibin / for China Daily

(China Daily 08/27/2014 page17)



The J-Innovation

Steve Jobs died the month that the latest Nobel Prize winners were announced. The coincidence lends itself to speculation about inevitability.

Recommendation of Global IP Service Agencies with Chinese Business

Washable keyboard

The future of China & WTO

JETRO: A decade of development in China

主站蜘蛛池模板: 国产精品特黄一级国产大片| 最新亚洲人成无码网站| 国产乱子伦一级毛片| 91精品国产免费久久国语蜜臀| 日本www在线播放| 四虎884tt紧急大通知| 18禁亚洲深夜福利人口| 性xxxxfreexxxxx国产| 亚洲国产精品成人综合久久久| 美女免费精品高清毛片在线视| 国产欧美激情一区二区三区-老狼| fc2成年免费共享视频网站| 日本高清免费网站| 伊人免费视频二| 99re6在线视频精品免费下载| 日韩精品成人一区二区三区| 免费在线观看一级毛片| 蝌蚪视频app下载安装无限看丝瓜苏| 国产精品嫩草影院在线看| а天堂中文最新一区二区三区| 日本卡一卡2卡三卡4卡无卡| 亚洲午夜久久久久妓女影院| 狠狠色欧美亚洲狠狠色www| 四虎成人免费大片在线| 3344永久在线观看视频免费首页| 少妇无码av无码专区线| 久久人妻少妇嫩草av蜜桃| 欧美激情观看一区二区久久| 再深点灬舒服灬免费观看| 陈冰的视频ivk| 国色天香中文字幕视频| 东北大坑第二部txt| 日韩精品久久久免费观看| 亚洲欧美中文日韩在线v日本| 精品国偷自产在线| 国产在线观看www鲁啊鲁免费| japanese国产在线看| 最近的中文字幕视频完整| 亚洲香蕉免费有线视频| 精品黑人一区二区三区| 国产午夜精品一区二区三区|