The Right Stuff
The Queen said recently:
“I hope in the years to come everyone will be able to take pride in how they responded to this challenge.”
A good example is Captain Tom Moore, who aimed to raise £1,000 for the NHS but has raised a phenomenal £27 million-plus. He also received over 25,000 cards for his 100th birthday. Some wealthy fashion designers have a different take on the current COVID-19 crisis, however.
Following in Victoria Beckham’s Footsteps
Victoria Beck has furloughed 30 of her employees, getting the UK taxpayer to cough up about £150,000 to protect her staff from redundancy. Fellow British designer Stella McCartney has done the same, furloughing approximately 700 employees from her 51 eponymous global stores. The brand will also not top up their wages with the 20% contribution as recommended by the government, as in the case of Posh’s brand. Those unfortunate to remain in work at Stella McCartney will take a pay cut for some reason.
Immoral and Disloyal
Furloughed employees of the brand have accused McCartney of being disloyal, claiming that her actions are morally wrong and socially unacceptable. Ironically, the homepage of the Stella McCartney website homepage features the slogan: ‘We are all in this together.’ Who exactly does ‘we’ refer to?
Animal Advocate
A feature of McCartney’s endeavours is her consciousness of animal rights. She is a supporter of PETA, the non-profit anti-animal cruelty organization, and she applies a ‘no animal’ policy regarding her designs. Given this furloughing scenario, is it possible that animal rights are higher on McCartney’s agenda than human rights?
Meant for Those Who Can’t Afford to Pay
The UK furlough scheme is a support mechanism for cash-strapped businesses to avoid making employees redundant as a result of the COVID-19 crisis. Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden said companies should only use the taxpayer-funded scheme ‘if they had to.’ The furlough subsidiary is not designed for millionaires to line their pockets. Celebrity Net Worth states that as of 2020, Stella McCartney has a net worth in excess of £60 million. You may think that nearly 20 years at ‘the top’ may have given the designer much greater wealth and also taught her to be more considerate to those who helped build her brand?
