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

    欧美成人中文字幕在线看| 99久久国产热无码精品免费| 国内精品久久久人妻中文字幕| 天天爽亚洲中文字幕| 中文字幕免费在线| 亚洲精品无码MV在线观看| 国产成人无码久久久精品一| 亚洲av无码一区二区三区人妖| 日韩中文字幕免费视频| 国产成A人亚洲精V品无码性色| 亚洲一日韩欧美中文字幕欧美日韩在线精品一区二 | 国产日韩AV免费无码一区二区三区| 亚洲AV无码乱码在线观看性色扶| 亚洲精品无码鲁网中文电影| 天堂√在线中文资源网| 亚洲国产精品无码久久SM| 中文www新版资源在线| 亚洲日韩精品无码专区网站| 手机永久无码国产AV毛片| 中文毛片无遮挡高潮免费| 国产精品ⅴ无码大片在线看| 亚洲精品~无码抽插| 乱人伦人妻中文字幕无码| 一本一道精品欧美中文字幕 | 无码人妻丰满熟妇区BBBBXXXX| 国产成人精品无码播放| 日韩欧精品无码视频无删节| 伊人久久综合精品无码AV专区| 毛片无码全部免费| 东京热无码av一区二区| 无码少妇一区二区三区浪潮AV| 在线欧美中文字幕农村电影| 亚洲无码黄色网址| 影院无码人妻精品一区二区| 亚洲?V无码乱码国产精品| 亚洲日韩精品A∨片无码| 中文字幕精品视频在线| 无码国产精品一区二区免费式影视| 亚洲欧美日韩一区高清中文字幕| 中文人妻无码一区二区三区| 最近2019年中文字幕6|