Face masks by six British designers for charity

Following the British government’s announcement that it will be mandatory to wear face coverings on public transport in England from June 15, to help limit the spread of the coronavirus, the British Fashion Council has announced that British fashion designers and brands including Raeburn, Mulberry and Liam Hodges, have collaborated with the British Fashion Council on their "Great British Designer Face Coverings: Reusable, for People and Planet" campaign to raise money for charity.

Photo from British Fashion Council.

There are six sustainable, non-medical face masks, designed by Halpern, Julien Macdonald, Liam Hodges, Mulberry, Raeburn and Rixo, which the British Fashion Council hopes will raise £1 million to be split between three different charities: NHS Charities Together Covid-19 Urgent Appeal, Wings of Hope Children’s Charity, and the BFC Foundation Fashion Fund, which will support the next round of funding to give back to British designer businesses.

The campaign is launched in collaboration with ethical supply chain specialists Bags of Ethics, which has manufactured the face coverings in its partner factories. The re-usable face mask are sold in packs of three with two protective pouches for £15. They are made of fabric and contain no single-use plastic.

These non-medical face coverings are available to buy online through britishfashioncouncil.com and through partner retailers soon including Asos, Boots, John Lewis and Partners and Sainsbury’s in Tu Clothing sections in selected superstores, convenience stores and online at Tu.co.uk and Argos.co.uk.
The launch of these designer face masks coincided with London Fashion Week which was staged for the first time as a “digital” event, rather than the habitual three-day schedule of physical catwalk shows, glamorous presentations and events that fashion editors, international buyers and influencers have become accustomed to.  Due to the health and safety concerns impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic, this quarantine-friendly digital format featured a dedicated online platform with a timed schedule of content-based "events" - from fashion films and digital showrooms to podcasts, playlists and panel discussions. Also instead of a menswear-focused show, the June 2020 event was a gender neutral affair, covering both menswear and womenswear designers and for the first time, members of the general public were able to watch for free the fashion content.