Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
Designers ditch their wedding dresses and scrub up to help NHS
A PAIR of Dundee fashion designers have swapped wedd i ng d resses fo r medical scrubs in a bid to help NHS staff battling coronavirus.
David Alexander and Penny Mathers from La Mode Studios have, like many other local businesses, experienced a significant downturn in trade due to lockdown.
However, after a special request came in from the NHS, the son and mum duo decided to put their sartorial skills to an alternative use.
And now they’re calling on Dundee’s fashion fraternity to follow suit.
David said: “We can’t really do business right now, so me and my business partner decided to try to make up to 100 scrubs.
“We just want to help the NHS. The more scrubs they have the better.
“We’re planning on hopefully getting up to 100 in about a week or a week and a half.”
The two usually run a high-end designer company which specialises in bridal wear.
However, the UK’s lockdown state, with bans on mass gatherings, has caused their business to judder to a halt.
The fashion designer said: “We’ve been hit hard.
“We lost a lot of money, but there’s not really much which can be done about it.
“Most of our summer brides have postponed until next year.
“We still have some of our winter brides, but we’re not really making a lot of money.”
The pair are providing the scrubs to NHS staff free of charge.
They plan to manufacture the clothing at their studio i n Technology Park, before shipping them to local hospitals.
The first order will go to staff in Arbroath, with later sets being sent to other hospitals in Tayside and Angus.
David added: “A woman at the NHS asked us to do this.
“She contacted me and I thought I might as well use my skills to do it.
“Due to the guidelines, it’s just me and my business partner, my mum, working on this.”
David has also urged other people with skills i n fashion design and production to help out the NHS, saying: “Kids at college and university, studying fashion and textiles courses could help out.
“The scrubs are quite simple, they’re a basic pattern. Students should be able to manage that easily.”
Others across Dundee have also been pitching in to help protect Tayside’s NHS staff.
Staff at schools across Dundee have been producing visors (see page 9) and donating other pieces of personal protective equipment.
Residents have also shown their support through donations and social media posts praising the NHS and their staff for all the work they have been doing recently.