Kate Rushing

PPE is now officially capital-F Fashion

Naomi Campbell stepped onto a flight from LA to New York in head-to-toe personal protective equipment in March, as the spread of covid-19 was intensifying. It felt like a novel Instagrammable moment at the time rather than a foreshadowing. A legend, an icon, a woman whose very image is her livelihood, sporting a hazmat suit, face shield, goggles, mask, and gloves. But that outfit would soon become the uniform of beleaguered frontline healthcare workers worldwide if they were lucky enough not to face staggering PPE shortages.