Fashion and retail are among the many industries suffering a massive blow to business due to the coronavirus pandemic . In addition to indefinitely closing the doors of brick-and-mortar locations, retailers have been forced to furlough employees, push aggressive markdowns on merchandise to encourage consumers to keep spending, and, in the unfortunate case of companies like J.Crew and Neiman Marcus, declare bankruptcy in the hopes of staying afloat. But a surprising lifeline has been tossed in the direction of small and medium-sized fashion businesses, by the mega online retailer Amazon.The cyber giant's style-oriented platform, Amazon Fashion , announced the launch of its partnership with Vogue and the Council of Fashion Designers of America as part of a multi-pronged effort to help struggling businesses. The initiative was kicked off with an immediate monetary contribution of $500,000 to A Common Thread — the story-telling initiative across Condé Nast platforms to raise awareness and funds to support the American fashion community. The collaboration, which is called Common Threads: Vogue x Amazon Fashion, also includes a digital storefront dedicated to providing designers with access to Amazon's vast customer base and advanced fulfilment network.“I’m thrilled to announce this partnership, and want to thank Amazon Fashion, not only for its generous support of ‘A Common Thread,' but also for so quickly sharing its resources to aid American designers affected by the pandemic,” Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour said in a statement. Wintour also serves as Condé Nast's US. Artistic Director and Global Content Advisor. “While there isn’t one simple fix for our industry, which has been hit so hard, I believe this is an important step in the right direction.”