Costume Designers Guild to Sew Masks for Hospitals

With critical medical supplies in short supply, the Costume Designers Guild is currently rallying its members to step into the breach to help sew masks for hospitals dealing with the spread of COVID-19. Salvador Perez, president of the Costume Designers Guild, told Variety, “We are organizing all our members from local 892 and local 705 costumers who can sew, to manufacture masks for hospitals. It will be good to keep busy and help the community.” This followed a conference call with the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, who had Tweeted their readiness last Friday:

https://twitter.com/IATSE/status/1241068592084459529?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1241068592084459529&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.motionpictures.org%2F2020%2F03%2Fcostume-designers-guild-to-sew-masks-for-hospitals%2F

The Costume Designers Guild joins a growing number of people and productions from the entertainment industry pitching in to help outfit hospitals and healthcare professionals working on the front lines of the pandemic. Medical shows like ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy,The Good Doctor, and Station 19, as well as Fox’s The Resident, have all turned over items in their wardrobes, including the crucial N95 masks, to hospitals.

Station 19 showrunner Krista Vernoff told Refinery 29:

“At Station 19, we were lucky enough to have about 300 of the coveted N95 masks which we donated to our local fire station. They were tremendously grateful. At Grey’s Anatomy, we have a back stock of gowns and gloves which we are donating as well. We are all overwhelmed with gratitude for our healthcare workers during this incredibly difficult time, and in addition to these donations, we are doing our part to help them by staying home.”

Many other guilds are stepping up, too. Variety reports that Cathy Repola, Motion Picture Editors Guild national executive director, sent a letter to members saying, “If any of you sew or want to volunteer to deliver the masks (without violating the social distancing guidelines), please let us know and we will put you in touch with those coordinating. Another option is working with the MPTF residents. They are isolated in their rooms without any group activities or meals.”

This article was first published here.