Are patterned masks making coronavirus trendy? Wearing funky face coverings could make them fashionable and the new normal, campaigner warns

Patterned face masks may make coronavirus trendy, financier and campaigner Dame Helena Morrissey has claimed.

She said she only wears surgical masks and has stopped wearing fashionable ones – like the ones the Duchess of Cambridge has been pictured wearing – so the 'unusual' times of the pandemic do not become the new normal.

'We've decided to only wear the surgical masks. I once bought one of those flowery ones and then realised that this is making it fun and fashionable. Whereas, actually, it's not,' she said. 

Dame Helena Morrissey has claimed patterned face masks, like the ones the Duchess of Cambridge wears , could make the coronavirus pandemic 'fun and fashionable'

The campaigner said she now only wears surgical masks so the 'unusual' times of the pandemic do not become the new normal. Pictured, Gwyneth Paltrow visits her Goop shop in The Hamptons donning a $50 seersucker mask

She added: 'We're adopting the mask-wearing because we're told to, because it might make it safer.

'That's good, but let's remind ourselves how unusual this is and best not get used to it and make it into some sort of normal in the new sense.'

Dame Helena, who campaigns for women's representation on company boards, also said the furlough scheme was a 'good safety net' but it was time for employees to return to the office.

She told The Daily Telegraph: 'It's very nice not having to get on the train and so forth, but actually I think we do have a responsibility to get back to the office. 

Stylish Joan Collins shared a fun picture of her wearing a face covering which matched her patterned dress in St Tropez after saying 'I would never wear a matching mask'

Elle Fanning was seen wearing a personalised face covering, while other celebrities, including Hills: New Beginnings star Whitney Port have opted for other patterned masks

'I would love to see the messaging change from "Okay, well, if you feel like it and it's a sunny day and you don't have to sit next to anybody on the Tube come in if you'd like to" to "Actually, you know what, we're going to get back to as normal as we can and please come into work".'

As well as enjoying a stellar business career, Dame Helena's activism led her to found the 30% Club, which fights for better female representation on company boards.

She has also campaigned to end female genital mutilation and is a trustee at the Eve Appeal, which fundraises for gynaecological cancer research.