Top fashion designer Rajo Laurel is now producing personal protective equipment (PPE) sets for the frontline healthcare workers fighting the COVID-19 outbreak.
In a statement from Vice President Leni Robredo on March 23, she expressed a pressing need for more PPEs that shall withstand the pandemic. She also urged the public to come up with creative solutions to aid our country in this dilemma. By means of this, the local fashion industry stepped up and are making use of their expertise to come up with alternative PPE designs for our frontliners – one of those is Rajo Laurel.
Rajo Laurel has developed a prototype of the PPE suits that he and his team will manufacture and posted the sewing process of this in his Instagram stories. He had transformed his factory into a pocket studio of his own comprised of 20 to 25 hardworking in-house staff living right behind his factory. He has also been sourcing durable materials so he can mass produce them at his House of Laurel but a certain type of material is needed for the suits to be medically graded.
On his Instagram, he shared the process of creating the PPE’s, from designing down to manufacturing:
According to the acclaimed fashion designer, the best material to use is Tyvek, a high-density polyethylene fiber manufactured by DuPont and a suitable garment that can protect the body from liquids and chemicals.
With this, Laurel asked the public for monetary assistance as well as donations of materials so they can continually produce PPEs for the frontliners. Friends and clients from the industry, however, pledged to catapult the process into full production.
“My belief in humanity is restored with this particular action. I’m very proud to be part of a community that has a lot of compassion and heart to really help these wonderful individuals that are so necessary for us to overcome this pandemic”, Laurel said.
For donations, you can contact Tricy Vergel de Dios (0917 324 6091) or Mabi Yulo (0917 824 3322) or email at hol.ppedonations@gmail.com.
