While some fashion groups/companies and designers started making face masks to help the Coronavirus emergency, other brands moved onto a different kind of product that may still be helpful in this emergency - hand sanitisers. As highlighted in a previous post, LVMH converted the production facilities of its Perfumes & Cosmetics brands - Christian Dior, Guerlain and Givenchy - to make hand sanitisers, but also Estée Lauder, the L'Oréal Group, Coty Inc. went for this option.
LVMH's hydroalcoholic gel (production started in mid-March) was mainly aimed to be distributed in French hospitals (39 public hospitals in Paris) at no charge. In the meantime, Louis Vuitton recently announced the reopening of 12 of its 16 leather goods production sites in France (with a reduced workforce). They will be making 100,000 masks a week that will also be donated to retirement homes in France, while producing prototypes for the Fall collection as well.
Bvlgari, part of the LVMH Group, followed the sanitiser path and started manufacturing it together with its historical fragrances partner, ICR (Industrie Cosmetiche Riunite) located in Lodi (an area badly hit by Coronavirus). The sanitiser, distributed in 75ml recyclable bottles and sent to the most critical infrastructures, is made by volunteer workers as many people in that area lost members of their families to Coronavirus and the company doesn't feel it is right to force anybody into work at the moment.
"Aware of the difficult situation we are experiencing, we believe it is our duty to contribute with our know-how and production facilities and we thank the Italian Civil Protection Department who will take care of the collection and distribution," stated Bvlgari CEO Jean-Christophe Babin in a press release.
At the beginning of March Bvlgari also donated to the Research Department of Rome's Spallanzani Hospital a state of the art 3D high definition microscope. The Leica Thunder Imager 3D Cell Culture & Live Cell is a very useful piece of equipment as it can identify microscopic cell structures even on three-dimensional biological samples and to follow their growth and interaction with other microorganisms over time, so it remains the best tool for studying Coronavirus infections at a cellular level.
Donating this piece of equipment was a good idea (despite the fact it was also turned into a great photo op for the company...): the medical researchers at the Spallanzani - comprising Maria Rosaria Capobianchi, Francesca Colavita and Concetta Castilletti - were the first to isolate the virus in less than 48 hours, a key achievement to improve diagnosis, developing a vaccine and finding a cure. Besides, this was the first microscope of its kind to be installed in the city of Rome.
It will be interesting to see what will happen in future once the emergency is over. Will hand sanitisers become a key product, maybe more popular than fragrances? Bvlgari makes its hand sanitiser in a factory that produces high-end perfumes and hotels amenities, and it is thinking of replacing the conditioner in its trademark hotel kits with this new product, but it also highlighted that, should a distributor show interest in their hand sanitiser, they will start producing it.
Maybe fashion groups should also invest in funds for medical and scientific researches: if they can create fashion grants and competitions, and splash an incredible amount of money in fashion shows that last less than 20 minutes, they can also invest in medical equipment, scholarships and grants. After all, science is as creative as fashion, but you can only be creative when you're healthy and you can only be stylish while you're alive.
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