His Dark Materials costume designer starts campaign to make scrubs for medical workers

With the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) spreading at such a rapid rate, it can be hard to come by positive news stories these days, but if you look, you’ll see many organizations and celebrities stepping up to fight the disease in whatever ways they can.

That includes the costumer designers for HBO’s fantasy drama His Dark Materials, who have begun to help medics treating patients with COVID-19 by sewing scrubs for them. Hospitals around the world have expressed concerns about the medical equipment needed to combat this pandemic, and designers are volunteering to help.

According to Deadline, Dulcie Scott, who serves as costume supervisor on His Dark Materials, started the Helping Dress Medics campaign, with other designers and costume makers joining the movement. Using its GoFundMe page, the initiative has already collected over £20,000 ($24,769), its initial goal, to make protective gear for medical staff in the UK. Those sewing the scrubs are planning to have them ready for use by the end of this week.

“We are liaising with hospital staff directly in the areas we live and taking advice from them about what they need, so that we can specifically help them,” Scott writes. “The nature of how the virus is spread means that the demand for scrubs is especially high.”

Scott’s campaign isn’t the only one to arise in light of increased medical needs during the health crisis. Fashion designer Christian Siriano stepped up to make medical masks for doctors and nurses in New York, and a number of fashion companies have followed suit, offering their services to provide masks, scrubs and gowns to medical workers all over the world. Celebrities are also donating to the cause, with James McAvoy recently pledging almost $350,000 toward getting protective medical gear to the UK and Game of Thrones alum Emilia Clarke and Deadpool star Ryan Reynolds raising money to ensure at-risk populations aren’t negatively impacted during the pandemic.

If one thing’s been made clear during this health crisis, it’s that it truly does take a village, and it’s refreshing to see that those with the means to do so are trying to make a difference however they can.

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