The fashion retailer announced its shift in production yesterday, saying that its charitable arm - The Ralph Lauren Corporate Foundation will start manufacturing 250,000 masks and 25,000 isolation gowns in the US.

The foundation is also donating $10m (£8.2m) towards the global response to the coronavirus pandemic.

Ralph Lauren, executive chairman, said: “At the heart of our company, there has always been a spirit of togetherness that inspires our creativity, our confidence and most importantly our support for one another. In the past weeks and months, that spirit has never wavered”.

Ralph Lauren is one of the many companies shifting their production to help the COVID-19 crisis. Brewdog announced on Monday that it would begin producing and distributing hand sanitiser, with Dundee-based distillery Verdant Spirits doing the same.

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