Fashion houses all around the world are repurposing their production facilities to provide support during the COVID crisis.From Prada to New Balance to H&M, the fashion industry is showing its philanthropic side to help humanity. 

Prada has pledged to produce 80,000 medical overalls and 110,000 masks in its factory in Umbria to supply to healthcare personnel in Tuscany. 

Following suit, luxury conglomerate LVMH (think Louis Vuitton, Celine, Fendi, and Dior) announced it will be ordering over 40 million FFP2 disposable respirators, which are the most effective and hardest masks to manufacture, as well as surgical masks from China to relieve healthcare workers in France. 

LVMH is also employing its beauty brands to produce hand sanitiser and deliver it to hospitals. Ditto Bulgari Beauty and Estée Lauder 

Australian label Scanlan Theodore has turned their factory in Fiji into a ‘Personal Protective Equipment’ production line, starting with hospital gowns that are in high demand worldwide. At the time of writing this article, their first prototype is in the early stages of development.

Burberry has partnered with the University of Oxford in order to fund research into a vaccine, whilst Moncler has donated approximately $18 million to build a new hospital for COVID-19 patients in Milan. 

Investing in innovation, New Balance is working with local medical professionals and R&D workshops to produce FDA approved face masks, whilst Under Armour has designed origami face masks as well as face shields and specially equipped fanny packs for medical staff. Both athletic brands have a goal to produce 100,000 masks per week.

Repurposing deadstock and excess fabric from previous collections, french brand Sandro, are making face masks for non-medical workers in hospitals. They have also released a Stand Together t-shirt, 100% of profits from its sales will be donated to the Red Cross. 

Last, but by no means least, Coperni have released a face mask pattern that can be downloaded from their website and made at home. Their intention with this is to alleviate public demand and stop consumers from buying medical-grade masks that could be better utilised in hospitals.

We thank all the healthcare workers and staff working in essential services for working overtime, not seeing their families and sacrificing so much to save so many <3