Designers And Fashion Houses Are Rallying To Help Health Care Workers

Mr Rogers once famously said that in times of fear and uncertainty, we should, 'look for the helpers'.

Thankfully, during the devastating Covid-19 pandemic, we haven't had to look too far to find those helpers. From normal folk and celebrities alike staying home in a bid to flatten the curve, to hotels offering up rooms for homeless people, people from all walks of life are doing their best to help in a difficult situation.

And that includes the fashion industry, which, over the last week, has seen fashion designers put their factories, seamstresses and distribution centres to good use to try and help those on the front line of pandemic-fighting: health care workers.

Let's take a look at which designers and fashion houses are helping health care workers and how...

The H&M Group announced on 23 March they would be using their supply chain to distribute personal protective equipment for those who work in hospitals as soon as possible.

'The Coronavirus is dramatically affecting each and every one of us, and H&M Group is, like many other organisations, trying our best to help in this extraordinary situation.' Anna Gedda, Head of Sustainability H&M Group, explained.

'We see this is as a first step in our efforts to support in any way we can. We are all in this together, and have to approach this as collectively as possible.'

The American design house Pyer Moss took to Instagram to request donations of medical masks and latex gloves to their New York City office.

The brand, founded by Kerby Jean-Raymond, also set aside $5,000 (£4,253.12) to purchase these items.

'In the last few days; I've been getting an influx of messages from medical professionals on the front lines, who have been treating this pandemic, about their shortage of basic supplies.' The Instagram post detailed.

'Many of them, including my sister, have not had enough n95 masks and some are without gloves. My sister was exposed to Covid-19 and her elder patients' safety have been compromised due to some professionals having to wear makeshift masks.'

Historic fashion house Prada has, since March 18, been utilising its own factory to produce 80,000 overalls and 110,000 masks to be distributed in the Tuscany region of Italy.

Project Runway star Christian Siriano offered up his sewing team to New York Governor Andrew M. Cuomo earlier this week, and now they are successfully manufacturing medical masks for health care workers in the US.

'If we need masks my team can make them! I have sewers and pattern makers ready to help working from home we just need all the information on how to help.' The designer Tweeted to the politician.

Zara's parent company Inditex has similarly joined the effort, by offering up its factories and logistics capabilities to the Spanish government to donate masks and other protective medical wear.

They reportedly: 'will make a delivery at least once a week of materials we purchase directly.'

And have, 'already donated 10,000 protective face masks and by the end of this week expects to be in a position to ship another 300,000 surgical masks.'

In the US, sustainable footwear brand Allbirds has pledged to donate a pair of their Wool Runners to any healthcare worker, if you simply email together@allbirds.

See the original post on Instagram

Alongside stepping up to produce free hand sanitiser for French health authorities and hospitals, LVMH (the luxury company that owns Louis Vuitton, Christian Dior, Givenchy, Moet & Hennessy) has now revealed that it is set to donate around 40 million medical masks.

'By virtue of its global distribution network, LVMH has managed to secure an order with a Chinese industrial supplier for a delivery of 10 million masks in France in the coming days (seven millions surgical masks and three millions FF92 masks).' A statement from the company read.

'The order will be repeated for at least four weeks in similar quantities (i.e. approximately 40 million masks).'

British shoe brand Sophia Webster announced last week she would donate 200 pairs of her FlyBy trainers to NHS workers.

'From the get go, my mission has been to create shoes that make people smile, so it is with this best intention that I show my gratitude by gifting 200 pairs of our FlyBy trainers to NHS workers on the front line - hoping to bring a little joy to the selfless medics going through these unprecedented times.' An Instagram post read.

On March 22, Kering (who own Saint Laurent, Balenciaga, Gucci and Bottega Veneta), detailed a pledged to create and/or donate protective gear for medical workers across Europe.

The luxury fashion group revealed that they will donate 3 million surgical masks sourced from China to France, both Saint Laurent and Balenciaga will begin manufacturing medical apparel imminently, and Gucci will produce and donate 1.1 million masks and 55,000 medical overalls to Italy.