- Angela Gonzalez-Rodriguez
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New York – In order to help mitigate the global coronavirus pandemic,
many luxury brands have either shut down their factories entirely or taken
measures to flatten the curve by reducing shifts and offering their
manufacturing capabilities to make masks, disinfecting hand soap and other
medical gear.
Big names in the industry such as Chanel, Hermès or Gucci, just to
mention but a few, have decided to shut down their factories across France,
Switzerland, and Italy for the next several weeks.
“Chanel took the decision, in accordance with the latest government
instructions, to close the entirety of its production sites in France,
Italy, and Switzerland [watchmaking], as well as its haute couture,
ready-to-wear, métiers d’art and jewelry,” the company said in a corporate
release. For the time being, the label created by Mademoiselle Coco
maintains some distribution sites active thanks to minimal staff.
Likewise, media reports indicate that Hermès has closed down 42
production sites the end of March and that Gucci has closed six factories
in Italy as well as all of its stores in the country.
Armani Group was one of the first firms to take measures to halt the
spread of the epidemic, holding its Milan Fashion week show in February in
private. Additionally, the company closed all Armani stores and restaurants
on Mar, 10, the day Italy’s lockdown began in earnest, and factories were
temporarily shut during the first week of March. But the Italian designer
didn’t stop there: he has donated circa 1.4 million euro to three hospitals
in Milan, to the Lazzaro Spallanzani National Institute for Infectious
Disease in Rome and to the Italian civil protection agency. “The health and
wellbeing of my employees have always been and continue to be my priority,”
Armani told ‘Forbes’ in an interview earlier this week. “We have been
following, and often anticipating, the measures being adopted in all
countries.”
Photo courtesy of Hermès
