Donatella Versace Joins the Fight Against Coronavirus
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MILAN — Donatella Versace is the latest fashion personality to make a significant donation to help fight coronavirus infections.
The Versace chief creative officer, along with her daughter Allegra Versace Beck, donated 200,000 euros to the intensive care department of Milan’s San Raffaele hospital.
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“In times like this, it is important to be united and support however we can to help all those who are in the front lines, fighting every day to save hundreds of lives. This is why, Allegra and I have decided to make a personal donation of 200,000 euros to the intensive care department of San Raffaele hospital in Milan,” the mother and daughter said in a statement. “Our hearts go out to all those who have been affected by this disease and to all the doctors and medical staff who have been working heroically non-stop in the past weeks in the effort to take care of our loved ones. This is when we, as a society, need to stand together and care for one another.”
Luxury footwear label Sergio Rossi also made a 100,000 euro donation to Milan’s Fatebenefratelli and Luigi Sacco hospitals. In addition, all the proceeds from the sales at sergiorossi.com will be fully donated to fight the COVID-19 outbreak.
On Friday, Giuseppe Santoni, chief executive officer of high-end shoe brand Santoni, kicked off a digital fundraising initiative, making a 50,000 euro donation. His goal is to raise 500,000 euros to support Italy’s Marche region, where his company is based.
On Friday night, digital entrepreneur Chiara Ferragni, who last Monday launched a fundraising campaign which raised 3.8 million euros, said that the digital platform that hosted her initiative made a donation of 250,000 euros to a range of Italian hospitals. In particular, gofundme.com, which was established in 2010 in the United States and already contributed 10,000 euros to Ferragni’s campaign supporting the San Raffaele hospital, will benefit hospitals across the Lombardy region, Naples and Milan.
The same night, with an Instagram post Fendi men’s and accessories creative director Silvia Venturini Fendi announced that the Carla Fendi Foundation made a 100,000 euros donation to support the intensive care department of Rome’s Presidio Sanitario Columbus.
On Wednesday, French conglomerate Kering, along with those of its luxury brands particularly active in Italy — including Gucci, Bottega Veneta, Saint Laurent, Balenciaga, Alexander McQueen, Brioni, Pomellato and Kering Eyewear — made a 2 million euro donation to several health-care institutions across Lombardy, Veneto, Tuscany and Lazio, all key areas for the aforementioned Kering brands.
Italian designer Elisabetta Franchi also decided to give her support to the Italian hospitals that are taking care of the coronavirus patients by making a 50,000 euro donation to launch the #ifyouwantyoucan fundraising campaign.
On Sunday night, Giorgio Armani Giorgio Armani announced the donation of 1.25 million euros to the Luigi Sacco and San Raffaele hospitals and the Istituto dei Tumori in Milan, as well as the Istituto Lazzaro Spallanzani in Rome, which are all fighting the coronavirus spread in the country. The amount will additionally support the activities of Protezione Civile, the country’s civil defense.
Bulgari, Dolce & Gabbana, Versace, LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, Alibaba, L’Oréal, the Estée Lauder Cos. Inc., Shiseido Co. Ltd. and Swarovski are also among the companies who made donations to support the fight against the virus, while Gucci chief executive officer Marco Bizzarri has also made a personal donation of 100,000 euros to the Ausl IRCCS of Reggio Emilia.
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