Five Handmade Masks That Transformed Alter Ego’s Runway Looks at Bumbershoot
Five UNFRAMED characters needed something the garments alone could not give them: permission to stop looking entirely human.
Ayanna Ali handmade five theatrical masks for the Bumbershoot debut. Each belonged to a specific persona and garment. Seen together, the masks are a study in how a face can echo a silhouette, interrupt it or pull a detail into sharper focus.
Model Mason Ainsworth wearing one of Ayanna Ali’s handmade theatrical masks. Photo: Noah Kim (@nmk.jpg). Courtesy of Alter Ego Expressions.
Losing the face changed everything else
Covering part of the face changes the way an audience reads a body. Expression becomes less literal. Posture, the turn of a head and the sweep of a garment carry more of the character. On the runway, five distinct masks made that shift visible in five different ways.
Ayanna Ali hand-finishing a pink and black theatrical mask before the UNFRAMED runway show. Photo: Courtesy of Alter Ego Expressions.
Five masks, five relationships to the garment
The Divine Observer
The black-and-gold mask sends a spray of white feathers above Gat’s head, while fine gold lines run around the eyes. In the runway view, the dark garment opens into broad panels covered with illustrated faces and gold pattern. The pale crest rises above that wide, image-filled silhouette, giving the look another kind of wing and a striking point of light.
Black and gold mask with white feather crest for The Divine Observer. Mask: Ayanna Ali. Photo: Courtesy of Alter Ego Expressions.
Model Gat wearing the Divine Observer mask with illustrated garment panels spread on the runway. Photo: Chloe Collier (@hi_chloetry). Courtesy of Alter Ego Expressions.
The Ascended Predator
Pink feathers push through black ones around the eye line, with bright pink marks cutting across the dark mask. Jenelle’s oversized black jacket opens to a vivid red-orange illustrated lining; flashes of pink in the hair make the face and garment feel connected without repeating the same image. The mask gives this loose, mobile silhouette a concentrated, watchful center.
Pink and black feathered mask for The Ascended Predator. Mask: Ayanna Ali. Photo: Courtesy of Alter Ego Expressions.
The Ascended Predator (Jenelle Ng) wearing the mask and illustrated jacket. Photo: Noah Kim (nmk.jpg) . Courtesy of Alter Ego Expressions.
The Molten Empress
The mask’s orange and red surface looks almost heated, with raised red details and a black feathered edge. Sasha’s black bodice and long red illustrated skirt carry the same fire-and-shadow contrast on a larger scale. At face level the color is compressed into a fierce band around the eyes; below, it flows through the dress as she moves.
Red-orange mask with black feathers for The Molten Empress. Mask: Ayanna Ali. Photo: Courtesy of Alter Ego Expressions.
Model Sasha Van Horn (@sashaboss10) wearing The Molten Empress mask with the corset gown. Photo: Noah Kim (@nmk.jpg). Courtesy of Alter Ego Expressions.
The Midnight Decadent
A silver-gray faceplate, pale scrolling marks, small pointed details and a high black feather crest give this mask a cooler, more ornamental presence. Mason’s dark, deep-V garment has its own fine, branching pattern and flashes of metallic color. The mask gathers those lines at the face, turning a fluid, open neckline into a more guarded expression.
Silver and black feathered mask for The Midnight Decadent. Mask: Ayanna Ali. Photo: Courtesy of Alter Ego Expressions.
The Midnight Decadent wearing the mask and patterned garment. Photo: Chloe Collier (@hi_chloetry) Courtesy of Alter Ego Expressions.
The Obsidian Executioner
A red lower half, black upper edge and dark beading sharpen the eye openings; black feathers and short points extend the silhouette outward. Andreya’s garment answers with hard, projecting shoulders and a bold illustrated panel at the back. Both mask and garment make their impact through abrupt edges, while the red face brings a flash of the back illustration forward.
Red and black mask for The Obsidian Executioner. Mask: Ayanna Ali. Photo: Courtesy of Alter Ego Expressions.
Andreya Taylor wearing The Obsidian Executioner mask with the garment's pointed black shoulders. Photo: Noah Kim (@nmk.jpg). Courtesy of Alter Ego Expressions.
Objects beyond the runway
The masks remain physical artifacts of UNFRAMED’s first chapter. Their feathers, painted lines and sculptural edges show how Alter Ego Expressions carried original artwork into fashion and performance, one character at a time.