The Business of Fashion

Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.

Chanel to Produce Surgical Masks for France

The Parisian house, which had temporarily closed production sites in France, Italy and Switzerland due to coronavirus, said it would start manufacturing protective gear once prototypes were approved.

A closed Chanel store | Source: Stefano Guidi/Getty Images

Reuters

29 March 2020

PARIS, France — Luxury fashion group Chanel said on Sunday it would launch production of face masks to help bolster supplies in France, as the coronavirus sweeps across the country.

Prototypes were being worked on and would roll off production lines once they received the approval of French authorities.

"Today we are mobilising our workforce and our partners... to produce protective masks and blouses," Chanel said in a statement.

On Saturday, Health Minister Olivier Veran said the government had ordered more than a billion face masks, mostly from China, to be supplied in the weeks and months ahead.

France was using 40 million face masks per week, he said. Doctors, nursing home carers and police have complained of shortages.

Chanel also said it would not be putting any of its 4,500 employees into temporary unemployment as it weathers the sharp downtown in economic activity.

By Richard Lough; editor: Catherine Evans.

In This Article

Topics

Luxury

Organisations

Chanel

Location

Paris, France

Can Kering Turn Things Around?

As the French luxury group attempts to get back on track, investors, former insiders and industry observers say the group needs a far more drastic overhaul than it has planned, reports Bloomberg.

Can Celine Work Without Hedi Slimane?

After growing the brand’s annual sales to nearly €2.5 billion, the star designer has been locked in a thorny contract negotiation with owner LVMH that could lead to his exit, sources say. BoF breaks down what Slimane brought to Celine and what his departure could mean.