Far from the glare of the spotlight, a number of the country’s leading fashion designers such as Rajo Laurel, Philip Rodriguez, Jun Escario and Michael Leyva try their hand at designing, manufacturing and donating today’s equivalent of the body armor to healthcare workers waging an unconventional war against COVID-19.
By ALEX Y. VERGARA
We’re all in this together! How many times have you heard this battle cry since the whole world started coming to terms with the COVID-19 pandemic? Well, it doesn’t matter, really. What matters is what have you, in your own little way, done about it?
Doing what they do best, many of the country’s leading fashion designers have responded to the call to solidarity by mobilizing their teams to answer the pressing need for face masks and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the country’s doctors and other frontline healthcare workers.
Such protective clothing are vital if healthcare professionals are to do their jobs properly and avoid getting infected themselves with the highly contagious novel coronavirus, as they deal directly with COVID-19 patients in swamped hospitals all over the country.
No to garbage bags
Michael Leyva, for instance, began responding to the crisis almost three weeks ago when he saw a number of front liners on TV wearing improvised PPE made of unused garbage bags. Since his operations, like many of his colleagues, have temporarily stopped because of the pandemic, he was able to quickly mobilize a team of 20 people to initially work on face masks.
In due time, they shifted their focus on making PPE suits. Both face masks and PPE suits are made of repellant, non-woven materials.
“It really broke my heart when I saw them making do with garbage bags made of plastic,” he shares via FaceBook Messenger. “Imagine, they take good care of COVID-19 patients while they themselves are not properly protected. Right there and then, I told myself that I have to start.”
So far, they have been able to donate 4,000 pieces of face masks and 900 PPE suits. The number of PPE suits he and his team have done so far is still way off Michael’s target of doing at least 3,000 pieces.
Apart from using excess materials from his inventory, Michael received donated materials from a number of designer-friends. Some friends, including a number of loyal clients, also donated money to fund the purchase of additional materials.
The Antipolo native has so far donated to a number of hospitals in his city as well as those in Taguig and Las Piñas. He’s also planning to send masks and PPE suits to healthcare workers stationed at the Philippine General Hospital (PGH) and UST Hospital in Manila. Having finished Tourism at the pontifical institution, Michael has a special place in his heart for the University of Santo Tomas.
“Some of the pieces were picked up by hospital representatives themselves,” he shares. “The rest I was able to deliver to different hospitals through Lalamove.”
Meanwhile, a client from Iloilo who owns a private plane requested Michael for some PPE suits. Thus, despite the ongoing travel ban, a number of pieces he and his team did have ended up in an Iloilo hospital.
Family affair
Rajo Laurel, creative director and head of the House of Laurel, Inc., also took his cue from images he saw on the Internet to start mobilizing his skeleton team of 20 people to work on PPE suits, pronto! They started working a week ago. Members of his own family have also joined the effort by helping make face masks.
“Our front liners are dying out there and they’re our real and first line of defense in managing and helping contain this virus,” he says via WhatsApp. “There’s no time to lose. These are desperate times!”
He also acknowledged the initiatives made by fellow designer Mich Dulce who first thought of the idea. The Office of the Vice President was also instrumental in inspiring Rajo “to allow us to do our share and be of service” to others.
Rajo’s face masks are made with acetate and foam, double-sided tape and garter, while his PPE suits are made of various available water-proof materials the company has in its factory. He has also received fabric donations from fellow designers like Vania Romoff and Sassa Jimenez.
As of press time, Rajo and his team were still making and collating PPE “bunny suits” they intend to distribute to a number of hospitals based on prior requests. But a good number of face masks have already been distributed by their company driver in hospitals within Alabang.
Like Michael, Rajo is open to donations in cash and in kind to help in the effort.
SMEs brave uncertainty
Manila-based Cebuano designer Jun Escario and business partner Tati Fortuna, like almost all SME (small-to-medium enterprise) owners, were initially concerned with how to help tide over their couture and uniform teams who work in two separate factories because of the disruption.
“I had no choice but to give weekly financial assistance to members of my couture team who are now without work,” he says via FaceBook Messenger. “But Tati and I saw that our uniform group composed of much younger personnel could work without any problems.”
It is the latter group that Jun tapped to produce masks and PPE suits for donation. His account executives, meanwhile, got in touch with various hospitals here in Metro Manila and Metro Cebu as well as the Office of the Vice President to know what their needs are.
Since public hospitals have a more pressing need for these protective gear, the team agreed to target them first. In Manila, the chosen beneficiaries are PGH, Research Institute for Tropical Medicine and Lung Center of the Philippines. They also allotted a number of face masks to policemen and various personnel manning checkpoints across Metro Manila.
In Cebu, Jun and Tati’s initial list of chosen beneficiaries are Cortez General Hospital, Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center and Cebu City Medical Center.
Escario & Fortuna, Inc. personnel have started making face masks early last week, while Cebu-based Jun Escario, Inc. personnel began working on PPE suits sometime this week.
According to Jun’s account executive Veronica Silvestre, they have initially distributed 600 pieces of face masks to University of the Philippines College of Medicine interns who have volunteered at PGH.
“The washable face masks and PPE suits are made of water-repellant fabric, which is what the PGH and other medical institutions specified in their requests,” says Veronica through FaceBook Messenger.
“Initially, we were producing 200 to 300 face masks per day. However, we have now increased the number to 600 per day. We’re also exploring other options such as raincoats for PPE suits as specified by PGH,” she adds.
Currently, Jun and his collaborators are not accepting donations in cash and and in kind since they don’t have enough manpower to work on additional materials.
Spirit of Sinulog
Fellow Cebuano designer Philip Rodriguez and his team, in collaboration with JCI Sinulog Group, have also started making “DOH-approved” PPE suits made of taffeta with silver underlay.
Philip has designed three free-sized variations, including separates—top and pants—to make it easier for female front liners to pee.
“I saw an urgent need for PPE (suits) from an association,” he shares through SMS. “I also saw another designer doing it. That and encouragement from Marco Protacio and (fashion director) Jackie Aquino finally made me decide to do it.”
Philip and his collaborators have chosen to initially focus on Metro Cebu. A nephew of his and his batch mates from a Jesuit-run school will help in the distribution. Before this, he did a small number of masks for employees of his brother’s shipping company. He has now also started to make surgical caps made of material used for making eco bags.
After Ann Maglasang of JCI Group delivered the fabrics, Philip lost no time designing and making prototypes. When he posted his prototypes on FaceBook the next afternoon, the designer was suddenly swamped with inquiries. Philip, who’s working pro bono, will be charging his collaborators just enough to cover for accessories and salaries of his workers.
“We will utilize the first bales of fabrics sent by our partners,” he says. “The effort is timely and the least I could do. It can also help some of my workers earn a living.”
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For those who either want to request for face masks and PPE suits or donate money and hospital-grade materials in the effort, please contact them through these numbers and email addresses.
Note that they’re just four of our designers who answered the call to help. There are other designers out there who are also into this effort. They may also need your help. Look for their names on Facebook and Instagram.
RAJO LAUREL
To donate:
0917 324 6091 – Tricy Vergel de Dios;
0917 824 3322 – Mabi Yulo
For monetary donations, you can deposit to House of Laurel, Inc. BPI current account 3521-1011-47; Please send them an email of the deposit slip to hol.ppedonations@gmail.com so they can send you an electronic acknowledgment receipt.
To requests for PPEs and masks:
0917 324 6091- Tricy Vergel de Dios
0917 8243322 Mabi Yulo
Or email them at how.ppedonations@gmail.com
PHILIP RODRIGUEZ
To donate or request for PPEs and masks:
0917 564 4828 – Philip Rodriguez
0915 417 0898 – Anna Maglasang
MICHAEL LEYVA
To donate or request for PPEs and masks:
leyvareymichaelleyva@yahoo.com or through his FaceBook account @ Rey Michael Leyva or Instagram account @ michaelleyva_
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