COVID-19 has hit the world by storm and affected everyone in some way and the fashion industry is no different. Like many others, big names in the fashion industry are coming together and supplying funds to those who need it.
Anna Wintour and Tom Ford paired up to create the Common Thread fund to help fashion designers around the world. Wintour and Ford, being the heads of Vogue and Council of Fashion Designers of America, have seen the toll it’s taking on designers and decided to do something to help. On March 24, 2020, Wintour made the announcement of the fund and invited designers to tell their story of how COVID-19 has affected them.
The fashion industry has supported the community with contributing masks and protective gear to hospitals now that these articles have become the new fashion norm. The fund is intended to help small fashion businesses and support independent designers through this time where fashion isn’t seen as essential and the industry has taken a huge hit from the pandemic. Earlier this month, on April 6, Wintour and Ford uploaded their own Common Thread stories.
“Tom and I are not doctors,” says Wintour. “But there is so much help that is needed, especially as small businesses and workers across the country suffer devastating economic consequences.”
Other designers like Alexander Wang, AleJandra Alonso Rojas and Phillip Lim have submitted videos describing the hardships they’ve come across from the pandemic. They describe what it’s been like for them working from home and navigating their drops in sales and business.
You can find more information on the CFDA website. Applications for the fund close this Sunday, April 19 but will be reviewed on a rolling basis.
