Fashion steps up
CANADIAN DESIGNERS ARE PIVOTING THEIR BUSINESSES TO HELP FULFILL THE ENORMOUS DEMAND FOR PROTECTIVE GEAR. ISABEL B. SLONE REPORTS
Luxury bridal designer Ines di Santo has switched gears to make hospital gowns.
Over the course of the pandemic, demand for personal protective gear has soared. Both home sewers and fashion designers alike have stepped up to produce cloth masks for everyday use. One such person is Izzy Camilleri, a stalwart of the Canadian fashion industry. In business for more than 36 years, Camilleri first rose to prominence thanks to her namesake intricate, feminine and rock ’n’ roll designs. In 2009 she founded Iz Adaptive, a clothing line designed specifically to accommodate the special requirements of people with physical disabilities. Now, Camilleri has temporarily transformed her business to make masks. “If you’re familiar with my work, it’s high-end, detailed, complicated and intense. So it’s kind of funny that I went from doing that to making masks, which are quite simple,” she says.
When social distancing measures closed all nonessential businesses in Ontario on March 24, Camilleri was forced to lay off her staff and put her business on hold. “It took me a while to wrap my head around [the situation]. I felt limited in what I could do.” But after friends began to inquire about masks, Camilleri realized that her sewing skills—as well as the fabric inventory sitting unused in her studio—could be put to good use. She went back to her studio and got to work. She enlisted the help of a few volunteers and donated all the masks to Michael Garron Hospital. Recently, Camilleri made the masks available for $15 each on her website. In less than a week, she sold more than 2,000 masks. Currently, Camilleri is able to produce approximately 300 masks per day, after enlisting the help of a local contractor.
Camilleri has also partnered with Canadian jewellery company Birks on a matching program that will donate one mask to Michael Garron Hospital for every mask sold; they plan to expand donations to Montreal and Vancouver hospitals. The masks will be distributed to non-essential visitors and patients discharged from the hospital. “By teaming up with Izzy we are able to provide masks for hospitals and protect our community,” explains Jean-Christophe Bedos, president and CEO of Birks. “Wearing masks when [people] leave their homes offers mutual protection that can reduce the number of individuals exposed.”
Camilleri isn’t the only local fashion talent making good. Hilary MacMillan, Narces, Nonie and Peace Collective have pivoted to producing masks. Luxury bridal designer Ines di Santo has switched gears to make hospital gowns. Outerwear behemoth Canada Goose repurposed factories in Toronto and Winnipeg to produce scrubs and medical gowns instead of the brand’s signature down parkas; it aims to distribute 10,000 units per week. Toronto fashion basics company Kotn enlisted the help of Holt Renfrew’s alterations team to upcycle leftover fabric into masks and donated the first 2,500 to Sunnybrook Hospital’s Infection Prevention & Control and Occupational Health team.
Even non-fashion companies have entered mask-making territory. Toronto custom furniture company Request For Product recently rebranded as Canada Mask Supply and now makes more than 20,000 masks per day.
Camilleri says she has found a new sense of purpose. “I did have a lot of questions internally about whether I should or shouldn’t be doing this, but I felt compelled to keep going,” says the designer. “It’s obviously something that’s needed and it’s something that I can do. I want to help.” This content was funded but not approved by the advertiser.