Hey everyone. I just wanted to give my two cents on the whole "Made in France" vs "Made in Italy."
Before the Second World War, Italy was primarily known for its quality production of leather goods. Italian fashion houses that we've come to respect now such as
Fendi or
Gucci were mainly leather suppliers and manufacturers at the time. They primarily supplied French fashion houses - designs were sent from Paris to Florence for production. This notion of France producing high quality leather goods is relatively new - France was simply not known for high quality leather and no respectable fashion house before WWII would have marketed their purses as being "French-made." As much as we clamor for French leather goods now, people during the 1920s wanted strictly Italian-produced leather accessories and purses. France at the time was celebrated for its textile industry and fashion designs as well as its malletier (trunk-making).
If the French weren't known for leather what about Louis Vuitton and Goyard? These two houses were two of the most famous malletiers at the time (both having been official suppliers to the House of Bourbon during the Restoration and the Bonapartes during the Second Empire). But as we know, Louis Vuitton monogram prints are not made of leather, they're canvas (or practically speaking, a more chic and expensive version of plastic). The French were known for their high-quality, durable traveling luggage. French canvas is a quality and durable material used primarily back then for creating luggage and travel accessories (I think anyone who's owned or even touched the LV canvas in any monogram print have noticed how resistant and tough it is
) Haven't you ever noticed that other than French fashion houses, canvas is rarely used for purses by other brands, European or not? Gucci and
Fendi are the few exceptions that began creating their own kind of canvas after World War II in order to compete with Louis Vuitton, around the same time when French fashion houses such as Dior began creating their own leather goods.
By the end of World War II, the beginning of globalization changed the luxury world. Italian leather manufacturers realized that they too could reap the same profits as the French houses they were working for by creating their own designs and selling products under their own name. Other Italian leather artisans demanded a significant rise in their pay. This led to the decrease of Italian artisans willing to work for French houses and thus the beginning of French production of high-quality leather goods. It's true that certain Italian fashion houses have been bringing over Chinese immigrants into Italy in order to have the "Made in Italy" stamp. But people shouldn't be looking down on that - the French did exactly the same thing in bringing over leftover Italian artisans to France during the 1950s in order to decrease production costs and introduce the art of Italian leather production to French artisans.
Would it be shocking to know that the first Chanel flap bags were "Made in Italy" and not "Made in France"? In 2011, it's a silly debate. The caviar leather of your flap bag or the lambskin of your Cambon may feel weird and may have not been made to the best standards but it isn't because it was made in France or in Italy - it just wasn't made to the high standards we as customers expect. Each bag is different, each bag has its quirks but in a globalized world like ours, its not really a question of the origin of its workers but really just a question of quality production.
As for your scarf, that shouldn't be shocking! Scotland is traditionally known for its high-quality cashmere production!
, I've never seen something else 'made in Scotland'.
