Advertisement

The Fashion Industry At Large Is Tackling The Coronavirus Head On

Photo credit: Fabio Iona-Corbis
Photo credit: Fabio Iona-Corbis

From Esquire

Lombardy, the Italian region that's home to Milan (and the country's heavyweight fashion industry), has suffered the sharp end of the coronavirus pandemic. And the ramifications were immediately felt by Prada, Gucci and Giorgio Armani et al – the latter even pulling a fashion show behind closed doors given the rising crisis. But as a central hub of menswear, the ripple effect was soon felt elsewhere, and a collective effort to tackle the coronavirus has been swiftly exercised in a joint effort across the board.

In recent weeks, several brands have made donations and taken action. Here's a list of contributions from the industry.

Phillips Perpetual x The Armoury

Phillips Perpetual has announced that all proceeds from the sale of its City Hunt 2 jackets with The Armoury are to be donated to the World Health Organisation's Covid-Solidarity Response Fund. The jacket is limited to just 25 pieces, and available to purchase from Phillips Perpetual online.

Ralph Lauren

“It is in the spirit of togetherness that we will rise," said the American brand's iconic founder as Ralph Lauren committed a staggering $10 million to several causes tackling the coronavirus, including a special fund as part of the Council of Fashion Designers of America's collective effort to assist brands affected by the crisis.

What's more, Ralph Lauren is working with Gail's Bakery to deliver meals for NHS workers without the time to shop for themselves and families, and will increase the level of support in the coming weeks across London hospitals.

Octobre Editions

Octobre Editions is donating 10 per cent of all proceeds to the emergency aid fund for the foundation of French hospitals.

Mango

Mango are donating 2 million masks to the Spanish Ministry of Health using its own logistical network that'll adhere to Ministry of Health guidelines.

Burberry

The British luxury brand has announced the fast-tracking of over 100,000 surgical masks to the NHS, in addition to a repurposed factor that can now make non-surgicl gowns and masks for patients.

Hugo Boss

In response to the crisis, German marque Hugo Boss will create 180,000 face masks in the coming weeks using a cotton-blend that can be washed and reused up to 50 times.

Acqua di Parma

From April 1, the Italian fragrance and lifestyle brand is donating 100 per cent of its revenue from all home and personal care products sold through the Acqua di Parma website to help the situation in Italy.

Giorgio Armani

The Armani Group has donated a total of 2 million euros to several Italian hospitals, and just today, announced that production would switch to crafting single-use medical overalls to be used across the nation's health service.

Gucci

In addition to a huge 2 million euro donation, a heartfelt open letter from Gucci's Alessandro Michele and CEO Marco Bizzarri urged others to partake in the relief effort.

Prada

Founding wife-and-husband duo Patrizio Bertelli and Miuccia Prada donated two intensive care units to Milanese hospitals, and went on to produce over 80,000 medical overalls and over 110,000 masks for Italian clinical staff.

Bulgari

Bulgari donated an unspecified sum to Rome's Istituto Lazzaro Spallanzani towards a microscopic image acquisition system that will provide essential relief to frontline staff. In addition, the luxury outfit has switched its fragrance production to hand sanitiser for medical facilities in the most affected areas.

LVMH

Luxury stable LVMH (home to the likes of Louis Vuitton and Loro Piana) confirmed that it would create free hand sanitiser and disinfectant gels to stave off a national shortage across France. In addition, a further $2.2 million was donated to The Red Cross Society of China.

Richemont

Another heavyweight luxury stablemate that's behind Cartier and Montblanc, Richemont donated around $1.4 million to causes focused on halting the coronavirus globally.

Hermès

Luxury leather goods maker Hermès pledged 5 million yuan to the China Soong Ching Ling Foundation, a public welfare foundation dedicated to projects and activities in education, culture, health and medicine and other socially sustainable fields.

Versace

Donatella Versace and her daughter Allegra confirmed that they'd be making a personal donation of 200,000 euros to a Milan hospital intensive care unit, with Versace the brand donating a further $143,000 to the Chinese Red Cross Foundation.

Canali

Canali confirmed a donation of 200,000 euros on behalf of the brand's nonprofit foundation, the Fondazione Canali Onlus.

Dolce & Gabbana

In partnership with the Humanitas Univesrity, Dolce & Gabbana is to fund studies and further researched on the root source of the virus, and how best it can be tackled.

AMI Paris

The ascendant brand made a donation to a leading hospital in the French capital, the Fondation Hôpitaux de France- Hôpitaux de Paris, and pledged a further 10 per cent of all online sales to the World Health Organisation's Covid-19 Solidarity Response Fund.

Kurt Geiger

Though the British high street has been forced to close, Kurt Geiger has ensured that all staff have remained on full pay, and encouraged workers to volunteer for the NHS in lieu of retail shifts.

Like this article? Sign up to our newsletter to get more delivered straight to your inbox

SIGN UP

You Might Also Like