Although the fashion
and design industries have been hit hard by the devastating economic impact
brought on by Covid-19, they have also been among the first ones to pull
together the resources at hand to make immense contributions to the global
relief effort. From LVMH producing hand sanitizer instead of perfume to
Brooks Brothers making up to 150,000 surgical masks per day, designers and
factories are doing everything they can during this critical time to give
back to their communities.
The latest efforts see and Chief Executive at Elle, Anja Khan, said in a
statement, “It’s important that businesses do their bit to support all
efforts to fight Covid-19. With such a huge demand for surgical masks for
frontline health care professionals, we wanted to ease this strain and
supply an ‘every day’ option as part of social distancing guidelines.”
How are designers and companies able to transition seemingly overnight
to produce PPE at such an impactful scale? Recently, FashionUnited
interviewed via Zoom and email two companies situated at the epicenters of
the pandemic on what it took to design, create and distribute protective
gear. The New York office of the renowned architecture and urban design
firm, Skidmore Owings and Merrill LLP (SOM) has donated 5,000 plastic face
shields to frontline health care workers all over the American East Coast.
In the first of this two-part report, we talked exclusively to the iconic
British heritage brand Mulberry on how their craftspeople have been sewing
reusable PPE gowns in its Somerset factories to support NHS frontline
workers and have produced around 12,000 gowns to date.
factories, Image courtesy of Mulberry
What is your job title and what does your workday usually look
like?
We are craftspeople at The Willows, one of Mulberry’s factories down in
Somerset, where we make over 50 percent of all handbags. Normally, we are
responsible for making bag families such as the Iris and our iconic
Bayswater. We usually implement what is known as a lean production process
– the ‘hand to hand’ method – which means each person is responsible for a
dedicated step or component. This enables us to quality check items and
each other’s work every step of the way as they move along the production
line.
Are there any similarities in the skill sets that you already have
which translate to what is needed to make PPE?
We are pleased to be making over 12,000 fluid-resistant, washable PPE
gowns that can be safely used multiple times. We are also able to make up
to 400 gowns a day – a lot more than the number of bags we can produce in
the same time.
There are certainly fewer stages to making a PPE gown than one of our
bags, but we are able to use the same stitching skills that some of us have
been developing for nearly 20 years. We have adapted our machines to stitch
material rather than leather and have adopted an end to end production
format- this means one person is responsible for the production of each
gown from start to finish, reducing how many people need to handle a
gown.
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How have the lockdown restrictions affected Mulberry’s craftspeople and
how has everyone been working since returning to the factory?
Production of leather goods was postponed at the beginning of the
Covid-19 outbreak in line with government directives around non-essential
work. Since returning, we have been following strict government guidelines,
including having a reduced number of people on the factory floor. The
majority of us live locally and are able to drive to work.
What has been some feedback on contributing socially during this time
of crisis?
When some of us were informed that we would be returning to work to make
PPE gowns, we were really proud to be involved and be able to play a role
in supporting NHS frontline workers. Some of us also have family working in
the NHS, so it’s been very rewarding to return to work and know we are
doing our bit to help. We hope the rainbow colours we’re producing the
gowns in has put a smile on people’s faces at a difficult time.
Also, we think it’s great that Mulberry was able to turn around the
manufacturing of PPE gowns so quickly. It took less than a week from us
receiving a request from a local consultant at a Critical Care ward to
making a prototype and starting production on the gowns. The response we’ve
had has been really positive, and we are now able to fulfil requests for
gowns from individuals and other NHS trusts.
Do you think the fashion and design industry has the power to influence
social or positive change post the Covid-19 crisis?
Yes, absolutely. It’s been wonderful to see both global brands and small
designer businesses join the fight against Covid-19. Mulberry shared its
PPE gown patterns with other NHS trusts and businesses so that more people
could get involved.
We have also been raising funds for the National Emergencies Trust with
our Coronavirus Appeal. Thanks to the generosity of our community, we have
raised over 75,000 pounds to help out those most affected by the
pandemic.
Images: courtesy of Mulberry