The designer discusses his donation of N95 masks to local hospitals and a new charity initiative to support minority communities.
It's been nearly two months since the coronavirus crisis brought New York — and the American fashion industry — to a grinding halt. But that doesn't mean designers are sitting back and giving in to panic. Whether it's making face masks à la Christian Siriano or working with Vogue and the CFDA's A Common Thread, people are trying to give back to their communities however they can.
Once I started looking into it, and I saw a few other designers saying they were going to do it, we reached out to Governor Cuomo's office and the hospitals. The hospitals couldn't take it unless it was certified; it has to be approved. I started reaching out to a few other designer friends who said they were making these masks for the hospital workers and I started doing research, and there was no way that was going to be possible.
I started my foundation almost nine years ago with a simple idea of diverting the attention I was getting into a bigger cause, and causes that needed more attention than I or my ego needed. That's how I've always been; it's just in my nature. I wanted to make sure that we were able to do it responsibly; I wanted to make sure the right kind of certified material was brought here and handed to the hospitals, not just put it in a stock room. That was really important to me.
You've been speaking out against anti-Asian racism since this started. How has that component factored into everything? Again, I have a voice and a platform. I just wanted to share the news; it was not calling out any community or particular groups of people, it was just, "Let's educate, let's speak up, let's make sure we are making people aware of what's happening," because the mainstream media was not picking it up. I still remember a few of my friends were like, "The things that you're posting, is that really happening?" I realized my voice was not enough.
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