Tanya Taylor donates 5,000 masks to New York hospitals + More Fashion News You Missed This Week
The latest involvements with COVID-19 relief efforts see luxury brands donating millions to hospitals and organizations, and sewists putting their skills toward making non-medical masks.
Tanya Taylor donates 5,000 masks to New York hospitals
Canada-born, New York-based fashion label Tanya Taylor announced its efforts to support healthcare workers during this time of need. The brand purchased 341 yards of fabric last week and immediately enlisted a partnership with its domestic factories for the production of 5,000 non-medical grade masks. Upon completion, the locally-sewn masks will be distributed to hospitals in New York City—an area that’s been fatally struck with an overload of COVID-19 cases—for use by hospital staff that are not in direct contact with patients. This gesture is a particular response to the shortage of medical-grade N95 masks that doctors, nurses and other frontline workers must wear. The Tanya Taylor team is asking its community members to assist them in making another 5,000 masks, through monetary donations. 100 per cent of each donation will go directly to the creation and distribution of these masks. Help to spread the word and, if feasible, consider making a donation on tanyataylor.com.
Sentaler supports COVID-19 research response fund at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre
Canadian luxury outerwear brand Sentaler is donating to the COVID-19 Research Response Fund at Toronto’s Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre. This will add support to developing improved testing methods and treatment for COVID-19. In addition to this, 10 per cent of all purchases made on sentaler.com will go to Sunnybrook Foundation. Since the first Canadian case of COVID-19 was discovered, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre has been at the foreground of the pandemic, and has spearheaded globally significant research discoveries. Anyone who would like to join Sentaler in donating to the Sunnybrook Foundation can do so here.
Piper & Skye employs over 30 Canadian sewists to manufacture masks
On April 2, luxury handbag and accessories brand Piper & Skye announced they are employing over 30 people from across the nation to help sew non-medical grade masks. “This pandemic has hit our global economy hard and as unemployment rates rise, I started to notice friends and family struggling with the uncertainty,” said Joanna MacDonald, founder of Piper & Skye. Edmonton-based sewist Heather Shaw has partnered with the brand to provide instructions and materials to the army of home-based sewists. The masks will be manufactured in accordance with the Deaconess Medical Center guidelines for mask production, and will be distributed to shelters across Canada. “All too often, when crisis strikes it affects the most vulnerable the hardest,” MacDonald added. “Thus, we are trying to support those frontline workers and vulnerable people hiding in the shadows of society that typically go unnoticed, by protecting those who do not have the luxury of coming home to a roof over their heads. I hope this will help deter the spread in these shelters.” Piper & Skye has also made a decision to donate 20 per cent of net proceeds from all Piper & Skye sales to the production of these masks.
The parent company of Versace, Jimmy Choo and Michael Kors donates $3 million to COVID-19 relief efforts
Capri Holdings Limited is a global luxury fashion group that owns Michael Kors, Versace, and Jimmy Choo – and this week, the company announced that it was donating $3 million to COVID-19 relief efforts across the brands. To break it down, the Michael Kors brand in New York is donating $1 million to local relief, and founder Michael Kors and Chairman and CEO of Capri Holdings Limited John D. Idol will personally contribute an additional $1 million. All three donations will be distributed among NYU Langone Health and NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, two of New York’s largest hospital systems; God’s Love We Deliver, to deliver meals to those living with serious illnesses in the city; and the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund’s A Common Thread.
Over in Milan, Versace is stepping in to donate $500,000, which will go toward local response efforts, specifically the San Raffaele Hospital and the Camera Nazionale Della Moda Italiana. Jimmy Choo is offering aid through its donation of $500,000. With that, the brand will support its home country of the U.K., as half of the donation will be sent to the NHS Charities’ COVID-19 Urgent Appeal. The other half will offer support globally, through WHO’s COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund.
“Our hearts and souls go out to those who are working on the front lines to help the world combat the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Idol in a release. “We thank them for their remarkable dedication and courage and want to support them and the hospitals where they work. We also aim to strengthen organizations dedicated to helping the community. This is clearly a time for people to come together in every way and on every level, because we are all stronger in our united resolve. I want to thank Donatella and Michael for their personal commitments.”
Outside of the luxury fashion category, Levi Strauss & Co. has pledged to donate $3 million. This initial commitment of $3 million will assist at-risk communities around the globe, specifically preexisting community partners and supply chain workers. The company has also been easing the burden of stress with weekday Instagram Live concerts.
