By Liezle Basa Inigo
DAGUPAN CITY – A 20-strong group of fashion designers in the province has designed, sewn and donated personal protective equipment (PPEs) to frontliners in the province.
The Pangasinan fashion designers donated PPE’s to the Region 1 Medical Center (R1MC) and the Pangasinan Provincial Hospital
(PFD/PIA Pangasinan / MANILA BULLETIN)
The Pangasinan Fashion Designers Volunteers Group (PFDVG) has shunned the glitzy lights of high-end fashion, and have pulled its members’ resources together to come up with more than PPE suits that have already been distributed to the province’s various hospitals.
“We wanted to help. We were ready to share the talent na binigay sa amin. At this point in time, itong paggawa ng PPEs na makakatulong sa mga frontliners sa pagsugpo ng coronavirus ay buong puso naming ginagawa at itutulong,” Milton Salinas of the MiltStyles Team told the Philippine Information Agency.
According to Salinas, members of PFDVG include not only designers like himself but also their suppliers, stylists, event directors and other fashion industry workers, who have all contributed their time, effort and money to help.
Of course, a huge part of the contribution came from the designers’ creativity and resourcefulness.
It was learned that the designers started with shower curtains as an alternative material to create the protective suits.
They looked for a prototype to follow and started measuring people for proper fitting. And soon thereafter, they were already testing their creations for waterproofing.
Glen Gonzales of Villasis town was in-charge of cutting the fabric or whatever material was to be used to make the PPE suit. These cut-outs were then sewn by the other members, while the designers themselves saw to it that these PPEs pass quality control, are properly packed and prepared for donation.
PFDVG noted that good Samaritans came bearing various contributions. Some donated the materials for the PPEs, some lent their vehicles for logistics purposes. Many more were at-the-ready to lend their sewing expertise.
In Dagupan City alone, the group was able to raise P70,000 for the production. A donor from as far as Butuan City sent eight rolls of cloth.
Trucks from the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) were also used to deliver the goods to the frontliners.
The fashion designers first donated to the Region 1 Medical Center (R1MC) and the Pangasinan Provincial Hospital during the first days of their endeavor.
As more help poured in, the group will be giving more PPEs to the public hospitals, rural health units and even private hospitals located in the western and eastern parts of the province.