cape town models strutted the ramp with adhesive glittering rhinestones stuck around their mouths arranged in the shape of surgical face masks as the coronavirus pandemic took centre stage at a fashion week in cape townveteran south african designer gavin rajah on thursday night used the stage at the african international fashion week in cape town to highlight to the division and potential racism that protective surgical masks may spurmodels also donned plastic sheets covering their heads and face mimicking the protective hazmat suits usually worn by medics working in infectious diseases hospitalsthe use of the mask is very kind of symbolic because the mask isnt really about necessarily protecting you but what its going to do is alienate you from the rest of the people around you rajah said its going to set you apart its a new form of racismsince the deadly outbreak of the virus known officially as covid19 originated in china in december asian communities around the world have been subjected to suspicion and fearwere trying to create a form of expression and turn something which is negative into a form of something which is beautiful said rajahin the worlds fashion hub of italy which is one the hardest hit countries chinese tourists have reportedly been spat at in venice and mothers in milan have used social media to call for children to be kept away from chinese classmates in malaysia a petition to bar chinese people from entering our beloved country received almost 500000 signatures in one weekrajah who is celebrating 20 years in the fashion industry said he didnt want to leave a legacy only of pretty dresses we want to acknowledge the humanity in people next to us and around us we want to champion those rights he saidsouth africa has registered 16 cases of the virus which has killed nearly 5000 and infected more than 130000 people as the virus sweep across the world