Handsome&Lace

Mannequin head wearing a mint green mask with Ruth Bader Ginsburg embroidered

Side view of a mannequin head wearing a mint green mask with Ruth Bader Ginsburg embroidered

Ruth Bader Ginsburg wearing the Notorious B.I.G. crown embroidered on the side of the mask

“Notorious R.B.G.” mask
Handsome&Lace by Keira Morgan
Toronto, ON
2020
FRC2021.01.022

Handsome&Lace, founded by Toronto-based designer Keira Morgan, specialises in handmade wedding accessories for men. When COVID put a halt to weddings, Morgan started making masks full-time, sometimes spending 13 hours a day crafting face coverings from natural fibres with embroidered details. This mask features an embroidered image of the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg wearing a gold crown, modelled after an iconic image of the late rapper The Notorious B.I.G. The alignment of RBG with Notorious B.I.G. stems from a viral blog launched in 2013, and speaks to the meme-ification and commodification of Ginsberg as an outspoken (sometimes controversial) political figure.¹

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¹ https://slate.com/human-interest/2015/03/notorious-r-b-g-history-the-origins-and-meaning-of-ruth-bader-ginsburgs-badass-internet-meme.html (external link)

To read more about the way RBG became a commodified meme, read Dahlia Lithwick’s piece on Slate: https://slate.com/human-interest/2015/03/notorious-r-b-g-history-the-origins-and-meaning-of-ruth-bader-ginsburgs-badass-internet-meme.html (external link)