Fashion designers take safety measures amid scare of Covid19 third wave

Team L&M

With a rise in Omicron cases, a variant of Coronavirus, India has been taking precautionary measures to ensure the safety of its citizens. Ensuring business and its people are in safe hands, the fashion industry experts too are following safety measures at their workspaces. Life & More spoke to a number of designers on their preparedness for the feared third wave, and this is what they have to say:

Sarika Kakrania,
Pink City by Sarika

Covid has changed our working style and we are following it for good to ensure the safety of our team, our craftsmen, our clients, and everyone’s families. We meet our clients strictly on appointment basis and also seek vaccination certificate. Appointments are always spaced out to avoid multiple customers from being in our studio at the same time. Sanitisation on entry and wearing mask are non-negotiable to ensure everyone’s safety. We have vaccinated our entire team, including our artisans. We still work remotely with a lot of our team so they can work from the safety of their workshops and homes and step out as little as needed. Since most of our business has moved online, even if there is a lockdown customers can place their orders online. Business is very important for everyone to sail through these tough times, but safety cannot and should not be compromised in case there is a spread of the Omicron variant.

Sana Barreja,
Sana Barreja

We have made sure that the staff and labor at the factory are fully vaccinated with both doses. Wearing a mask and continuously sanitising the factory is mandatory. We have also created mask and sanitisation stations at different parts of the workplace and always maintain social distancing. Like any other business, we are hoping for things to be normal, and no lockdown takes place, but in case of a lockdown like the last time our utmost priority would be the safety of all our employees.

Saloni Panwar,
Gulabo Jaipur

Ensuring safety measures at our factory and store was the first step. From everyone using sanitiser, washing hands to wearing safety gloves, our staff is adhering to the safety measures, to assure our clients’ well-being. While packing orders and attending to clients, our staff is wearing masks. We booked slots for every one of our staff members so they could get fully vaccinated. Ensuring safety at level zero is necessary. God forbid, if there is a lockdown, we are prepared for it this time, may it be financially taking care of the staff, or donating care packages who need them the most, we will take every essential step required to take care of ourselves and people around us.

Abhinav Gupta & Esha Bhambri,
House of Fett

Knowing the current situation and passing through the Covid19 pandemic, we understand the importance of taking precautions on a priority basis. It is mandatory for all the pieces to go through a sanitisation stage which includes dry-clean and further packaging in a separate room where usage of gloves and hourly sanitization of the room is mandatory. The pieces are then kept aside for 24 hours and then shipped to the client. Keeping in consideration the pandemic situation, it’s important to start taking precautions on a prior basis for the Omicron variant. Safety measures for the same are followed at all our stores as it is equally important for us to provide a safe and healthy shopping experience to the customer. The trial rooms are sanitised with a fog machine containing sanitiser after every trial. We are totally prepared to face a lockdown, if any, and cater to the situation to its best possibility. The brand does not stock up huge inventories and believes in increasing inventories as and when the sales are rising. This reduces the risk of stocking up in case of a lockdown. We are thankful to have a clientele we can trust to keep us going through all our thick and thin.

Drishti Doshi, Junipero

Since the onset of covid19, we have made sure our artisans, as well as office staff, always have their masks on while carrying out tasks during office hours. We have also made sure every staff member is double vaccinated by now. Since we are primarily an eCommerce brand, we were operational all through lockdown up till now without a single staff member getting covid, we have been lucky that way. So, we are prepared now as well in case of a lockdown as we have always taken all safety measures as per government policies and regulations. All staff members, as well as delivery partners, maintain social distance while carrying out tasks.