From Malaysia to Singapore, how Asian fashion designers are swapping couture for sewing PPE to fight the coronavirus outbreak
Filipino designer Rajo Laurel, Malaysian designer Jovian Mandagie and Indonesian designer Anne Avantie are making PPEs and other protective gear to help medical frontliners
With a vital need for protective equipment to protect frontliners and the general public amid the coronavirus pandemic, fashion companies and designers across Asia have stepped up to design masks to help fill the gaps, proving that the industry has much to contribute during these challenging times.
House of Laurel
Filipino designer Rajo Laurel’s fashion company reopened its factories at the end of March, shifting its skilled dressmakers to producing personal protective equipment (PPE) for frontliners. As of May 1, they have received donations worth over 2.3 million pesos (US$45,000) and have finished making more than 4,000 suits. These were distributed to various hospitals all over the country, even reaching some of the furthest islands such as Jolo in the southern part of the archipelago. “I think, being a designer, it’s our responsibility to create what I would think to be the modern day armour,” Laurel told STYLE.
CYC
In Singapore, bespoke suit company CYC has committed to producing 300,000 face masks for migrant workers. “They build our roads. They construct our homes and offices. They clean our estates. Most of them work outdoors and live in close-quarter dormitories. Yet, many of them don’t have access to masks, putting them at risk during the Covid-19 pandemic,” the company said in a release. CYC reports there have been an overwhelming number of volunteers sewers, each person committing to making 300 masks in 10 days.
Jovian Mandagie
Malaysian fashion designer Jovian Mandagie has also been making PPEs. Instead of the usual blue worn by health practitioners in his country, Mandagie opted for white. “We’ve decided to produce white PPE gowns for our frontliners as a symbol of their pure and clean hearts. While we are safe at home, they are out there battling the pandemic,” Mandagie posted on Instagram. His creations were a hit among the medical workers, praising the quality of the PPEs and the premium packaging. As of last week, Mandagie has also started working with charity Mercy Malaysia to get his PPEs to London where they will help protect Malaysian doctors and nurses who are working in the United Kingdom.