Now Chanel is Making Face Masks

@ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images via thecut.com

Luxury fashion houses are at the epicentre of this pandemic and continue to innovate by pivoting their businesses to manufacture items of critical importance. First it was the news of the LVMH group switching production lines in their perfume factories to make hand sanitizers. Read: Louis Vuitton Uses it’s Perfume Laboratories to Make Hand Sanitizer! Now luxury fashion house Chanel has announced that it will continue to employ its 4500 employees so as to manufacture face masks and protective suits for distribution across the country – thereby helping both employability and the Government.

@Claudio Lavenia Getty Images via Harpers Bazaar

As of March 29, France had confirmed at least 40,174 coronavirus cases and 2,606 deaths, according to reports. The country is currently using 40 million masks per week and even that isn’t enough. Chanel has just made its first prototype of the face mask and is awaiting for a green signal from the Government before they go full steam ahead with production and distribution.

Meanwhile, Chanel has also given 1.2 million euros to an emergency fund for the public hospital system, and promised its employees eight weeks of salary, according to WWD. This will help support the workforce without leaning on the Governments unemployment relief fund, thereby reducing the burden on public finances which can then be used instead for more vulnerable businesses and of course the health care system and emergency services.

@ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images via thecut.com

Other luxury houses like Prada, Kering and Koty are also doing their bit by using their facilities to manufacture masks, sanitizers and gloves. We are heartened to see the support coming in from luxury fashion and cosmetic houses, every bit of effort and contribution is sure to help in this unprecedented crisis.