BOSTON (WHDH) - Boston fashion designers are switching from fancy gowns and wedding dresses to face masks as they try to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
Denise Hajjar and David Josef are donating their time, money and skill as they move to a very different kind of style.
“Last week I was selling $5,000 wedding dresses for beautiful brides who had weddings this coming summer,” Josef said. “We are living in an alternate universe.”
Josef has made 250 masks so far and posted a YouTube video teaching others how to make them. The masks have a pocket so medical professionals can put in their own blocking mechanisms.
He’s now teaming up with movie costume manufacturer Ann Russo to make 500,000 masks at a factory in Fall River by next week.
And at her boutique in Quincy, fashion designer Denise Hajjar is working hard as well.
“It’s like a rhythm and you keep doing them and by the end of the day, you have 50 of them,” Hajjar said.
Hajjar’s masks are cotton, washable and reusable She puts a barrier fabric called Telon in the inner lining which can act as a block, although Hajjar said the masks are not medically certified.
But everything helps during the pandemic, she said.
“I’ve shipped a bunch off to San Diego, my cousin is an emergency nurse and they’re strapped for masks,” Hajjar said.
(Copyright (c) 2024 Sunbeam Television. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)