Yahoo Finance Valentino to Release ‘Vaccinated’ Hoodies to Support COVID-19 Vaccine
Valentino has created its own version of the viral “vaccinated” hoodies.
The design house will sell black hoodies emblazoned with its iconic “V” logo and the word “Vaccinated” instead of its signature Valentino in red. They will be available on the brand’s official website on Sept. 23 and is selling for $690.
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The net profits toward Valentino’s “Vaccinated” hoodies will be donated to UNICEF to support its work with the World Health Organization’s global COVAX program, which aims to facilitate global equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines.
“Getting vaccinated has become the most effective way to fight this global pandemic, as well as a symbol of respect for others and social responsibility. One cannot hide behind the concept of freedom by deciding not to get vaccinated,” Pierpaolo Piccioli, creative director of Valentino, said in a statement.
“Unfortunately, not all countries have equal access to COVID-19 vaccines. With this collaboration, Valentino supports UNICEF in the delivery efforts of life-saving COVID-19 vaccines,” the statement continued.
The sweatshirt first went viral when Piccioli and Lady Gaga, whom he’s worked with on recent campaigns, posted on Instagram wearing the style.
The sweatshirt, however, wasn’t originally Piccioli’s style. Cloney, a small Los Angeles-based clothing company, was the first to release them. The brand originally only made five, all of which were purchased by Piccioli. He gifted one of them to Lady Gaga, which she ended up wearing in a short video promoting her beauty campaign for Valentino Beauty.
In Piccioli’s Instagram post of himself wearing the hoodie, he also penned a message urging those who haven’t received the COVID-19 vaccine to do so.
“Getting vaccinated is not a choice. It is a civil liability. You cannot be free to choose to respect others,” he wrote. “Freedom must always be protected and for freedom one must fight: for the freedom to be oneself, the freedom to think, the freedom to love, the freedom to express one’s ideas. The freedom not to respect others is just another form of prevarication. And I don’t like any form of abuse.”
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