The thing to remember, everyone, is that the EU laws are such that a an item of clothing or bag or accesory can be 90 percent (that may be a slight exaggeration but I know it's a very high percentage) made in a non-EU country and, if the final "finishing" (this can be as little as sewing on a label) is done in the EU country, they can put the "Made in France" or Italy tag.
And "Made in Italy" doesn't mean what you necessarily think it does. Houses subcontract out to smaller factories that aren't necessarily at EU standard for pay and employer safety. There was already a scandal in England about that with the ASOS brand. And a really good French documentary about the mark-up on designer brands "Made in Italy", that are subcontracted out to people who work in "factory" conditions in garages and houses dotted throughout suburbs and villages, and not in the spotless factories with white-coated workers you see in the Youtube videos.
In a way, it's reassuring that Prada and Vuitton and others so clearly label where their stuff is made because it likely indicates that they have dedicated factories in each country, working to a standard. They could very easily play the game I mention above.
And, it must be said, the quality issue is, in my opinion, one that's endemic to the luxury goods industry. As the pieces become more popular and the demand goes up, they start cutting little corners everywhere that can add up to cluster**** when you buy the item. This is seen in brands like Hermes and Goyard, even. The prices keep going up because the amount of first quality leather and skins in the world is finite. There is only ever so much. But the quality decreases on the factory side. Making workers produce more faster, lowering the quality inspection process, cutting back on the quality of glazes, coatings, findings, even thread.
Our love for these products has lead to this situation. The companies are afraid to limit their output because nearly all of them are publicly traded companies and have to show growth or suffer. They did it to themselves and, in a way, we did it to ourselves.
And "Made in Italy" doesn't mean what you necessarily think it does. Houses subcontract out to smaller factories that aren't necessarily at EU standard for pay and employer safety. There was already a scandal in England about that with the ASOS brand. And a really good French documentary about the mark-up on designer brands "Made in Italy", that are subcontracted out to people who work in "factory" conditions in garages and houses dotted throughout suburbs and villages, and not in the spotless factories with white-coated workers you see in the Youtube videos.
In a way, it's reassuring that Prada and Vuitton and others so clearly label where their stuff is made because it likely indicates that they have dedicated factories in each country, working to a standard. They could very easily play the game I mention above.
And, it must be said, the quality issue is, in my opinion, one that's endemic to the luxury goods industry. As the pieces become more popular and the demand goes up, they start cutting little corners everywhere that can add up to cluster**** when you buy the item. This is seen in brands like Hermes and Goyard, even. The prices keep going up because the amount of first quality leather and skins in the world is finite. There is only ever so much. But the quality decreases on the factory side. Making workers produce more faster, lowering the quality inspection process, cutting back on the quality of glazes, coatings, findings, even thread.
Our love for these products has lead to this situation. The companies are afraid to limit their output because nearly all of them are publicly traded companies and have to show growth or suffer. They did it to themselves and, in a way, we did it to ourselves.
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I wish they'd still manufacture all their bags exclusively in Italy...
