Yverdon-les-Bains - The pandemic has brought designer Tony Puglia's activities to a screeching halt. He hopes to turn the situation around with the launch of his range of stylized masks.

The unprecedented health crisis we're experiencing is hitting entrepreneurs hard. The economy is slowing down, and customers are few and far between. With this in mind, Tony Puglia, designer and director of a communications agency, decided to fight evil with evil...
Following in the footsteps of other freelancers, the 38-year-old from Yverdon recently created a range of designer protective masks, based on a brand of socks he founded last year. I had to find a solution to pay my bills," he says. Faced with the demand for masks, I took the plunge a little blindly." Starting tomorrow, four new models will join the first two. Customers will then be able to propose their own image, which will be printed on the mask.

Fashionable like in Asia?

Tony Puglia is convinced that masks can be the mother lode. "In Asia, they've become an accessory almost like any other. If this market takes hold here too, the range could grow. You have to know how to take risks and not overthink things," assures the Yverdon native, who already has a number of customers.
But isn't it too dangerous to enter a field that could disappear if the mask craze doesn't catch on in Switzerland? No," says the entrepreneur. The products are assembled after purchase, which explains the delivery time. I have no stock. When I receive an order, I create the design and a stylist friend from Lausanne sews it onto the mask.
There's practically only one thing Tony Puglia could lose: "It's the hours I've spent creating the designs. But anyway, time is almost worthless these days..."