Cynicism aside, fashion brands making personal protective equipment is a good thing

It might be a good PR move, but when it is helping, who cares? The bad actors that never intended or simply failed to deliver will be remembered by the paying public

Abid Rahman

Published: 4:00am, 27 Apr 2020

Why you can trust SCMP

Lockdown 2020 continues and it’s proving hard to write this column as, let’s be honest, most of these are a recap of how I beclowned myself in public most recently. Thankfully for all of us, columnists are not considered essential workers so I haven’t been able to venture outside all that much, and beclowning oneself on Zoom, Skype or Houseparty isn’t really as funny and memorable. Although, the woman who took her laptop into the bathroom while on a videoconference call deserves a medal, or therapy. #PoorJennifer.

Like most people, I’ve been spending far too much time on the internet, playing games, watching trash television and devouring any and all information about these odd times in which we now live. I am obsessed in particular with the Great Mask Debate the world has been having. Well, I write “the world”, but it seems only the West is still debating it.

From the looks of it, Europe and the United States are finally coming around to the idea that masks are good, but the problem is there aren’t enough of them. Riding to the rescue are big luxury fashion houses. Storied names such as Prada, Burberry, Chanel and Louis Vuitton have stepped up, using their expensive machinery to make inexpensive personal protective equipmentfor health care workers.

Burberry is among the brands that have stepped in to help fight Covid-19. Photo: Handout

To give but a few examples, in Italy, which has been particularly hard hit by Covid-19, Prada has produced more than 80,000 medical overalls and 110,000 face masks for health care workers in Tuscany. In Britain, Burberry has repurposed its trench coat factory in Yorkshire to make gowns and masks for the country’s National Health Service. In France, which is currently using 40 million face masks each week, according to its health ministry, Chanel has mobilised 150 sewing specialists to make masks while Louis Vuitton has repurposed several of its production facilities to make protective gear for hospital staff.

There are countless other brands doing something similar. Of course, it’s easy to be cynical and say it’s all just a ploy for good PR and flattering headlines, but, genuinely, who cares if that is the case? The need is real and these brands are helping to meet it. And it’s in the commercial interests for the likes of Burberry and Prada, not to mention all of us stuck indoors, for the world economy to get going again, as every moment we’re at home in track pants trying to learn the Toosie Slide is a moment we’re not buying a bag or a pair of shoes.

I suppose that’s what this week’s column is about: a plea to everyone to park the cynicism until we get out of this. Yes, it’s a pretty ridiculous notion that Prada and Louis Vuitton have to step in and make medical equipment but everything is pretty ridiculous right now and the world that we once thought was pretty solid is actually held together with sticky tape.

Equally, this is not me defending or praising the fashion industry, goodness knows this won’t make up for all the other morally dubious things they have done and continue to do. But, for the moment, I’m willing to hold fire and let them get on with it.

When this is over, of course, there will be some fashion companies that made grand promises they never intended to keep or markedly failed to deliver. It’s inevitable there are going to be a few corporate grifters who saw the opportunity for easy PR. But we will all remember those who attempted a bit of skulduggery during a pandemic and it’s not going to be pretty for them when we finally get to use our purchasing power again.

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