The coronavirus effect began to manifest in the Indian fashion industry with the cancellation of Lotus Fashion Week earlier this month. Slow retail and deferred payments, followed soon after. The cancelled celebrity events, halted shoots, and a general state of panic didn’t help much either. To cut it short, just like everything else, the Indian fashion industry also shut down its operations. And as the small scale artisans and new brands take the brunt of the current chaos, FDCI, designers and brands from the industry have taken it on themselves to support them.
With the fashion industry receding into a worrisome heap globally, it is a matter of courage and much applause, that the Indian industry has taken charge of the situation and helping those who need it the most right now. Here’s how the industry is stepping up amidst all the coronavirus scares:
FDCI
FDCI took to Instagram this Sunday to announce that the apex body of fashion design in India has set up a “COVID-19 Support Fund (CSF by FDCI) to provide financial assistance to small businesses and young designers in need.” Sharing the full premise of the decision on their official website, FDCI shared how many design houses and a plethora of artisans and craftspeople employed by them have been hit by the crisis.
Anita Dongre
Anita Dongre is, in fact, the first prominent name from the Indian fashion industry who stood up for the COVID-19 relief efforts. Announcing medical support for small scale vendors and self-employed artisans, Anita Dongre Foundation set up a dedicated fund of INR 1.5 crores “to support any medical treatments arising during these troubling times.”
Sabyasachi Mukherjee
Sabyasachi Mukherjee also took to Instagram yesterday to announce solidarity for all those hit by the pandemic. The designer shared that while he has already secured his employees, funds of Rs 1 crore and 50 lakhs have been allocated by the design house to PM’s Relief fund and CM of West Bengal’s relief fund respectively.
“I do not consider this as a charity, nor do I seek any kind of praise. Everything we do today combats the massive challenges that we are facing as a nation and as a world, our investment in today’s efforts will come to us all exponentially in the future.”
The design house has also been actively raising awareness about COVID-19 and the mitigation status in India while showing stories of love and humanity in the time of COVID-19 while urging people to practice kindness in the trying times.
Here are some of the stories shared by the design house:
Limerick By Abirr N’ Nanki
Besides making donations to Dharma Bharti Mission to raise funds for daily wage labourers, Limerick has also created 3000 reusable face masks for the healthcare officials of Kasturba Hospital in Mumbai.
Their four-layered face masks have been made while paying due consideration to the COVID-19 safety standards. The masks have been made using multiple layers of germ-resistant filters that would be providing protection from over 90 percent germs and microbes.
Nitya Bajaj
Delhi based designer Nitya Bajaj before announcing paid leave for her staff on March 21, got them to collect waste scraps from the workshop and they handcrafted mouth masks so as to distribute them among the staff members, workers around the area and children on the streets.
Postfold
Formal dressing brand Postfold gave premium cotton face masks for every order that they shipped before the lockdown.
It is rather endearing to see the Indian fashion industry coming together in the face of a pressing crisis. We hope more representative names from the industry rise to the occasion as well and shoulder the burden until we see some light. After all, we are all in this together!!
Featured Image: Instagram
