Coronavirus: Michael Kors, Versace and Jimmy Choo pledge £2.5m to help battle virus

Designers are helping the cities where their brands are based

(Getty Images)

Leading fashion designers have pledged to donate $3 (£2.5m) to help the coronavirus relief effort in the cities where their brands are based.

Michael Kors has said it will donate £1.6m to hospitals, health centres and charities in New York.

Recipients will include NYU Langone Health and New York-Presbyterian, as well as the nonprofit God’s Love We Deliver (a longtime philanthropic partner of the brand) and the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund for COVID-19 Relief.

Italian designer Versace said it plans to donate £400,000 to help causes where the brand was founded.

The money will be split between the San Raffaele Hospital’s ICU and Camera Nazionale Della Moda Italiana’s “Italia, we are with you” initiative, which is supplying ventilators and medical equipment to the country’s hospitals.

Meanwhile, UK-based designer Jimmy Choo pledged £400,000 of donations which will help medical professionals on the front line.

The money will be distributed through the NHS Covid-19 Urgent Appeal by NHS Charities Together and The World Health Organisation’s Covid-19 Solidarity Response Fund.

All three brands will make the donations through their parent company Capri Holdings Limited.

“Our hearts and souls go out to those who are working on the front lines,” John D. Idol, chairman and CEO of Capri Holdings, said in a statement announcing the plans.

“We thank them for their remarkable dedication and courage and want to support them and the hospitals where they work. We also aim to strengthen organisations dedicated to helping the community.”

Last week, the British Fashion Council (BFC) created a coronavirus crisis fund worth £1m to help brands and designers struggling during the pandemic.

Announcing the move, BFC chief executive, Caroline Rush said: “Now more than ever, we are committed to support the businesses and people that make up our industry.

“With the BFC Foundation Covid Crisis Fund and the donations raised, our hope is to support those British businesses that need additional subsidies, beyond government stimulus available, to address their most urgent challenges.”

Earlier this month, journalist Anna Wintour launched a fund for those in the fashion industry affected by Covid-19.

The American Vogue editor partnered with the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) to create the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund, which typically provides support to emerging talents in the industry.