Fashion brand Zilch Amsterdam hands out a thousand free ferry caps at the Oostveer on Tuesday. Kirsten Berkhout (41) explains.
Funny name.
"Yes, even on the ferry you really can't do without a mouth mask. People often think: tram, bus, train, but you have to wear it on the ferry too. And if they do wear a mouth mask, it's often a dull colour, no patterns. We thought: it could be a bit more colourful. Our clothing, especially the summer collection, consists of bright colours. From the fabric that is left over, we are now making ferry caps."
A gap in the market.
"We thought: mouth cap, fur cap, that's funny. And we have fabric left over. So why not? But we see it more as a playful action to beautify the streetscape. We're doing it with no commercial intent."
Aha, that's why you're giving away a thousand free today.
"Yes, we hand them out between nine and ten-thirty 's morning and 's afternoon between three-thirty and five. We have found that people get very happy with them. They get to pick one themselves, smile and put it on. It's a gift in these sad times."
Do you make the caps yourselves?
"Our Greek producer makes them at cost price, he thought it was an incredibly nice idea. We have ordered ten thousand of them and are sending them on to our sales outlets free of charge. If they want more, they can also buy them at cost price. That's how you help each other out, and the customers love it, those fur caps between our clothes."
That's how you do something for someone else.
"Everyone feels the impact of the corona crisis. If you can do something then, you do it. It's a drop in the bucket, but oh well, it's something."
