E V E RY G I R L - E V E RY DAY 7 May 2020

Alumna Makes Scrubs for the NHS

Georgie Syms left Croydon High in 2013 and

gained a First Class Honours Bachelor's degree

in Fashion Atelier at the University for the

Creative Arts. She interned at Cad & The Dandy

in Savile Row and has been a Bespoke Coat

Maker for Sartoria Trenti since 2017. Last year

Georgia co-founded Syms & Fauri, a London-

based bespoke tailoring establishment for

women, where she is also Head of Design.

Here is what Georgie had to say about her

experience making scrubs for the NHS during

the coronavirus crisis:

“Running Syms & Fauri, a bespoke tailoring

service dependent on direct contact with the

customer, means I have not been able to work

from home in any meaningful way. It was a

great relief and, of course, an honour when I was approached to make scrubs for ‘For the Love

of Scrubs’. Not only did it give me the opportunity to use my sewing skills to help the brave

staff on the NHS front line, it also gave me the opportunity to do the thing I loved and missed.

For the Love of Scrubs was born out of a close collaboration between three individuals who

wanted to use the rich talent of the London tailoring community to answer the desperate need

for quality gowns and other PPE. The highly infectious nature of the Covid-19 virus has meant

that the ordinary cycle of clean scrubs had to be vastly increased in order to prevent the

infection spreading. Currently, there is a vast shortage of scrubs. Unable to get necessary

provisions from the government, hospitals have taken to individually contacting community

organisations and independent tailors to request assistance.

For the Love of Scrubs is an entirely organic organisation, not supported by the government in

any way. The work is a direct collaboration between the hospitals and tailoring community,

made up of freelance tailors, dressmakers, couturiers, and seamstresses who are volunteering

their time to support this initiative. Many of these individuals – such as myself – are currently

unable to claim or receive any financial support from the government for our own businesses,

due to gaps and flaws in the system.

Also assisting are the families, partners, and other individuals inside and outside the industry,

who have been using their personal cars and motorbikes to courier orders from cutter to maker

to hospital, ensuring our community is kept as safe as possible. Similarly, all fabric and

trimmings are either being generously donated by mills and haberdasheries up and down the

country through money raised on crowdfunding pages, or by volunteers purchasing their own

cloth and thread.

Despite the various challenges, it is great to see the tailoring community coming together in

these hard times to help such a vital cause. As the oncoming economic climate looks set to be

very turbulent, the most important thing to focus on at this time is supporting the essential

work required to get through this crisis in any way we can.”

Georgie is also giving her time to run university-style seminars as part of the GDST Limitless

Learning Programme for Upper Sixth pupils. We are very grateful for all her input!

7 May 2020