October 2024

The Hart Silversmiths in Chpping Camden. To Have Something Made Here - Truest Form Of Luxury

Back in June, there was a news story about a Dior handbag reportedly produced for just $57 in Italy. According to the report, Italian authorities uncovered that the factory had allegedly removed safety features from machines to increase production speed, with workers reportedly sleeping on-site to maintain nearly round-the-clock hours. Many of these workers, in Italy illegally, were being exploited by a subcontractor Dior had engaged — an embarrassing oversight for all involved. Yet Dior’s recent financial report, showing a 2% profit growth, means the brand won’t feel the pinch. With profits in the billions, one can only imagine the comfort that brings its shareholders. As for the exploited workers, they, sadly, won’t be seeing any dividends from Dior’s soaring returns.

But this sort of scandal, of course, is nothing new. We’re all rather familiar with the commercial trick: buy cheaper, sell higher. Sadly, as Tat’s own accounting sheets will confirm, this isn’t always as easy as it sounds. Dior’s production line is hardly the first from the luxury world to face scrutiny. In Gomorrah – Italy’s Other Mafia, Roberto Saviano documents how high-end clothing production — often priced beyond the average middle-class wallet — is allegedly outsourced to sweatshops in Italy, where workers earn a pittance. One image that has lingered with me is Saviano’s account of the 2001 Oscars, when Angelina Jolie wore a sparkling white suit by Dolce & Gabbana. At home, a tearful tailor watched, knowing his hands had crafted that suit in the shadows of a clandestine workshop.

Want to read more?

Subscribe to tat-london.co.uk to keep reading this exclusive post.

Subscribe Now