Gucci and Valentino Pledge Millions of Euros to Fight Coronavirus Pandemic
The fashion houses have pledged €2 million and €1 million, respectively.
As Covid-19 continues to spread, fashion brands are responding in a myriad of ways, from manufacturing personal protective equipment like masks and hospital gowns to donating shoes or hijabs to medical professionals.
Some, though, are just straight up giving money. Dolce & Gabbana was one of the first brands to announce that it would earmark funds for coronavirus research back in February. On Thursday, it was joined by two other Italian luxury houses: Gucci and Valentino.
Gucci announced in a release that it would be donating a total of two million euros to be split between the World Health Organization's Covid-19 Solidarity Response Fund and the Italian Civil Protection Department. It's also encouraging its followers and customers to make donations of their own through a campaign called "We Are All In This Together," which will launch on Gucci's social media accounts on Friday.
In addition, Gucci has promised to put its social media accounts at the disposal of the World Health Organization to "help in amplifying official public service information to protect the health, safety and well-being of the community," the brand said in a release.
“This pandemic calls us to an unexpected task, but it is a call to which we respond decisively, advocating the selfless work carried out by health workers, doctors and nurses on the front lines every day in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic, in Italy and in the rest of the world," creative director Alessandro Michele and president and CEO Marco Bizzarri wrote in a joint letter.
Meanwhile, Valentino announced that its non-profit arm, the Valentino Garavani and Giancarlo Giammetti Foundation, will donate one million euros to benefit the new Columbus Covid 2 Hospital, a new area dedicated to Covid-19 cases at Rome's Agostino Gemelli University Policlinic, which was inaugurated just five days ago.
"In such a dramatic moment for the whole world, we wanted to give our contribution to win this crucial battle against this invisible, but terrible enemy," Valentino Garavani and Giancarlo Giammetti said in a release. "Our deepest gratitude goes to those women and men who are fighting night and day to save human lives in our hospitals."
