They told us cashmere was the pinnacle of craftsmanship—soft, exclusive, worth every euro. Yet beneath the sheen of four-figure jumpers sold by Loro Piana, Dior, Armani and the rest, there’s a darker weave: forced labor, hidden workshops, migrants working 90-hour weeks for €4 an hour.
Who’d have guessed that “quiet luxury” could shout so loudly?
The underbelly of quiet luxury
For decades, we’ve cringed at headlines about fast-fashion horrors—notes begging for help stuffed into T-shirts, child labor exposed in factory raids. But the moment the luxury houses came under the microscope, it felt like a betrayal. Isn’t it ironic that the same brands touting artisanal heritage turn a blind eye when their supply chain goes off the rails?
Last month, Milan’s prosecutors dropped a bombshell: Loro Piana, the century-old cashmere icon lauded by Gwyneth Paltrow and Succession’s power brokers, is now under a 12-month court administration for alleged worker exploitation. The twist? Loro Piana isn’t accused of direct crimes. Instead, they outsourced production to a Chinese-run firm—only to discover it had subcontracted to illegal workshops outside Milan. In May, Italy’s labor crime unit found ten Chinese laborers, half undocumented, toiling up to 90 hours a week for pocket change.
Outsourcing on the outskirts
- Production chain: Loro Piana → Chinese-operated supplier → two illicit ateliers
- Wages reported: as low as €4 per hour
- Hours worked: up to 90 hours weekly
These numbers, stark on paper, don’t capture the fear, the cramped conditions, the urgency of hidden pleas for decent pay. Loro Piana insists they were blindsided—terminated the supplier within 24 hours of learning the truth—but the damage to that revered “Made in Italy” stamp is done.
Across Italy, this isn’t an isolated misstep. Since 2023, Armani and Dior have both faced judicial monitoring—and walked it back only after court-mandated reforms. Valentino’s bag subdivision joined the list too. Even Montblanc got burned: it sacked a supplier mid-audit over undeclared subcontractors, yet workers claim they lost jobs for speaking up about inhumane conditions.
Call it supply-chain roulette, but the house always wins: brands pass audits, commercial reviews—yet the real victors are consumers paying top dollar for goods made on the cheap.
Luxury vs. Ethics: The Great Illusion?
Deborah Lucchetti of the Clean Clothes Campaign pulls no punches: luxury relies on “cost reduction, profit maximization and opaque supply chains” that prey on unprotected immigrant labor. Fast fashion or high fashion—where’s the line? You might argue that a €3,000 cashmere jacket, probably costing €118 to produce, carries an ethical premium. But is that just a comforting myth we tell ourselves while scrolling Milan runway photos on Instagram?
And let’s not ignore the vicuña saga: Bloomberg reported Indigenous Peruvian herders underpaid for their ultra-fine wool. Loro Piana disputes it, claiming decades of ethical practice in Peru, yet the questions linger: can luxury ever truly reconcile glamour with genuine fairness?
In Europe, where tariffs, economic jitters and inflation are biting wallets, luxury sales are cooling. HSBC notes prices up 52% since 2019—no surprise demand’s tapering off. Could revelations about €4-an-hour labor be the final nail? Maybe not on its own, but as consumers wise up, that gilded image cracks.
So where do we go from here? Should we shun all designer labels, scout out local artisans instead or demand full supply-chain transparency? I’m torn. I love a well-made knit as much as anyone, but if wearing that sumptuous cashmere means someone else goes cold, isn’t it time we sounded the alarm?
Tell me: what would make you stop and rethink your next luxury splurge? Share your thoughts below—let’s untangle this thread together. And if this rattled your worldview, follow us on Facebook and Instagram for more fashion tips and deep dives into the stories behind those shiny price tags.
Sources:
- www.theguardian.com/fashion/2025/jul/24/made-in-italy-is-the-label-just-another-luxury-fashion-illusion
- www.people.com/quiet-luxury-brand-loro-piana-placed-under-court-administration-for-alleged-labor-exploitation-11773059
- www.business-humanrights.org/en/latest-news/Italy-Court-places-Armani-company-accused-of-subcontracting-companies-that-exploited-migrant-workers-under-judicial-administration-incl-company-comment/
