Italian police carried out searches and seizures at two Amazon sites in Italy on Monday as part of an investigation into the alleged smuggling of Chinese goods, three people with direct knowledge of the matter said.
Amazon logo is seen in this illustration created on February 11, 2025 – REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration
Dozens of officers from the Guardia di Finanza tax police and the customs agency seized around 5,000 products at a logistics hub operated by the e-commerce giant in Cividate al Piano, in the northern province of Bergamo, the sources said.
At Amazon’s Italian headquarters in central Milan, police seized IT equipment and identified the Amazon manager responsible for the transportation of goods within Italy, the sources added. Amazon in Italy was not immediately available for comment.
Italian prosecutors allege that Amazon acts as a kind of “Trojan horse” allowing an as yet unknown number of Chinese goods to circulate in Italy without being appropriately taxed, a court document showed on Monday.
Among the products seized at the Bergamo centre were toys, mobile phone covers, air fryers, pens and small scissors. It was not immediately clear what impact the two operations would have on Amazon’s activities in Italy.
The smuggling probe is a new line of inquiry stemming from an investigation into an alleged 1.2 billion euro tax evasion case. The new case, led by Milan prosecutors together with the Monza branch of the Guardia di Finanza, alleges smuggling offences by dozens of Italian companies, many of which are believed to be fronts for Chinese entities, and the manager in charge of the movement of goods via Amazon.
Prosecutors suspect that goods are being brought from China into the European Union, and then into Italy, through currently unknown channels, without sales taxes or customs duties being paid. The products are then allegedly moved and sold in Italy via Amazon’s marketplace. Milan prosecutors are investigating both suspected smuggling and violations of the EU customs code.
Since last summer, two other ongoing operations have proceeded with Amazon’s cooperation due to the complexity of managing goods flows in the e-commerce giant’s logistics hubs. Three people with direct knowledge of the matter said the number of products involved could total half a million, with the probe expected to be extended to the rest of the European Union.
Milan prosecutors were summoned to The Hague headquarters of the EU agency for criminal justice cooperation Eurojust in July, where they presented the scope of their investigation to counterparts from several EU countries, including Germany, France, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Belgium, Sweden, and Ireland.
Disputes over customs duties and sales taxes have fuelled growing tensions with the United States over the past year, but it is unclear how this case involving China will be viewed in Washington and Brussels.
In the original 1.2 billion euro tax evasion case, Milan prosecutors investigated three managers and Amazon’s Luxembourg-based European unit over alleged tax fraud related to online sales in Italy between 2019 and 2021. According to the probe, Amazon’s algorithm allows it to sell in Italy goods from non-EU sources, mostly Chinese, without disclosing their identity, helping them avoid paying Italian sales taxes.
Under Italian law, an intermediary offering goods for sale in Italy is jointly liable for non-payment of sales taxes by non-EU sellers using its e-commerce platform. Amazon said in a previous statement that it was “committed to complying with all applicable tax laws.”
In relation to that case, Italy’s tax agency has submitted a settlement proposal to Amazon on which the US group must decide by December. Amazon’s tax position has also been investigated by the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO), which has opened its probe into its accounts between 2021 and 2024 after new EU rules imposing stricter VAT obligations on marketplaces came into force.
Warped, a proudly Australian menswear brand, made its debut at the recent Pitti Uomo 109, unveiling its first-ever collection for Autumn–Winter 2026/27. Warped channels a strong, functional and authentic masculinity, free of artifice: a man capable of moving with equal ease through the Australian outback or a metropolis, without ever betraying himself. This vision translates into a collection that combines ready-to-wear, streetwear and active-functional pieces, underpinned by rigorous material research, responsible production, and a strong connection to Australia’s history and identity.
Jack Cassidy Williams, right, wearing Warped alongside one of his sons
The brand is so steeped in the free-spirited, authentic ethos of Mitch “Crocodile” Dundee, a cult figure of 1980s cinema who helped shape the image abroad of the no-nonsense Australian, that even the founder- who arrived in Milan with his two sons, aged 18 and 15, already active in the company- looks like the very character created by Paul Hogan.
“Crocodile Dundee is not just a film to us; it’s a way of being in the world. It’s about a man who hunts crocodiles with his bare hands in the outback and stays true to himself even under the dazzling lights of the metropolis,” Warped founder Jack Cassidy Williams explained to FashionNetwork.com. “It’s the story of a man who enters a sophisticated system without changing who he is. Functional, direct, honest. This is who we are. We’re not here to bend to fashion’s unwritten rules, but to bring our own way of doing things: less artifice, more reality.”
Warped
“Everything in the collection is handmade by my family. We design it, select the fabrics, create the patterns, and develop everything together- my children and I- in Australia. Traditional garments with modern finishes, in terms of handle and functionality; we even offer waterproof clothing, such as GOTS-certified waterproof cotton. Then there’s denim. All the fabrics are 100% made in Italy,” Cassidy Williams continues. At the heart of the collection is extensive fabric research: 100% RWS wool; high-stretch scuba fabrics and bi-stretch wool; cotton denim with a 3D weave effect; water-repellent cottons, viscose and viscose/linen blends for suits, jackets and trousers; high-performance, ultra-comfortable fabrics; and kangaroo-leather laces- a material five times as strong as cowhide- hand-finished with raw edges and authentic details.
“The collection is, in a way, a tribute to America, because the theme is the so-called ramblin’ man, or the free man; it’s basically about my whole life,” says the Australian entrepreneur. “All those people who decided to forge their own journey, to walk the path of life without following someone else. Like Hank Williams, Jack Kerouac, Duke Ellington, Bird, Muddy Waters, Pinetop, or Woody Guthrie- men who honoured life. Nowadays it’s so difficult to be free that freedom really is a state of mind. It’s our first collection through and through; we practically finished it before boarding the plane,” Cassidy Williams laughs heartily, then slips on a floppy wide-brimmed hat, slings a kangaroo hide over his shoulder and, as he pretends to crack a whip in the air, looks even more like Mitch Dundee- all after letting us taste a kangaroo salami and crocodile snacks…
Warped
“Our family has a textile tradition of great depth- more than sixty years- so Warped also works with the best global manufacturers in the mid-luxury segment: lace from France, fabrics from Italy, and other high-quality materials sourced from factories in Turkey, Japan and Korea,” Jack Cassidy Williams continues. “These factories were chosen not for trend’s sake, but because they’re unique- each one different from the next.”
Warped’s menswear collection for Autumn–Winter 2026/27 comprises around 40 looks spanning ready-to-wear, streetwear, and active-functional pieces. Jackets, suits, trousers, shorts, shirts, and T-shirts sit alongside a street and sportswear offer that includes hoodies, joggers and technical garments, all designed to be comfortable, durable, easy to care for, and genuinely wearable day to day.
Alongside the Warped men’s line, the company presented the Golden Age Sportswear (G.A.S) label in Milan, while the Warped Woman, and G.A.S Woman’s Street collections will debut in Italy from next Spring/Summer.
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Two indie fashion brands, Auralee from Japan and Études Studio from France, staged highly contrasting collections on Tuesday, the opening day of Paris Fashion Week Men, testifying to the dynamism of the season in the French capital.
Auralee: Purist fashion with polish
A moment of grace on Tuesday evening at Auralee, where Ryota Iwai’s deceptively understated designs never fail to impress.
Auralee’s answer to its question: “What makes winter joyful?” – Luca Tombolini
Staged in the Musée de l’Homme facing an illuminated Eiffel Tower, the show was the latest pure statement by a designer whose clothes blend subtlety with refinement.
Whatever fabric Iwai plays with always seems just right: whether speckled Donegal tweeds seen in brown knit pants for guys, or a frayed hem skirt for girls in this co-ed show. Leather or lambskin jerkins and baseball jackets, all were ideal.
Semi-transparent nylon splash vests or wispy trenches had real cool. While Iwai’s detailing was also very natty- like the flight jacket trimmed with fur.
A women’s look by Auralee – Luca Tombolini
He is also a great colourist- from the washed-out sea green of a canvas ranger’s jacket to the moody Mediterranean blue of a caban. Though his finale featured a quintet of looks in black. Most charmingly a languid, deconstructed double-breasted cashmere coat worn on a shirtless model- the picture of perfection.
There were perhaps not that many sartorial fireworks in the show, but there didn’t need to be. This was a purist fashion statement of polish and precision that this audience could only admire.
Backed up by a great soundtrack – Sounding Line 6 by Moritz. Von Oswald or the cutely named Autumn Sweater by Yo La Tengo- the whole display won Ryota a loud and long ovation. Fully deserved too.
Études Studio: Resonating in IRCAM
Études Studio certainly know how to stage a show. The design duo invited guests into the bowels of the Institute for Research and Coordination in Acoustics/Music, or IRCAM a unique French concept dedicated to experimental sounds.
A look by Études Studio – Collective Parade – Gaspar J. Ruiz Lidberg
Which we enjoyed a lot of thanks to Darren J. Cunningham, a British electronic musician known professionally as Actress. It made for a dramatic mood, as keys and chords swelled and raged throughout this show.
As a result, the design duo of Aurélien Arbet and Jérémie Egry titled this Autumn/Winter 2027 collection ‘Résonances.’ Terming it in their program: “A medley bringing into dialogue the minimalist experiments rooted in John Cage’s philosophy with the emergence of intelligent Dance Music in the early 1990s.”
The result was a rather moody series of clothes, made in a sombre palette of muddy brown, dark purple, black, black, and even more black.
Muted tones at Études Studio – Collective Parade – Gaspar J. Ruiz Lidberg
What stood out were the bulbous, off-the-shoulder puffers, worn over corduroy shirts or roll-necks- topped by some great rancher hats courtesy of Lambert. One could also admire sleek raingear; cool cocoon shaped jerkins and fuzzy mohair sweaters. And appreciate a sleek A-Line coat and zippered knit safari jacket in a rare women’s look in this show.
Photoshopped faces in black and white scarves all looked very appealing, as did the brand’s debut bag, a satchel in tough canvas. And one had to applaud one great dull gold, wildly deconstructed puffer.
That said, the collection lacked proper kick and rarely resonated as the show title suggested it would. A decent statement about the mode, but far from a fashion moment.
Not a label, not a lobby, not even a legal entity. That is how Arielle Lévy, president of the Une Autre Mode Est Possible (UAMEP) collective, characterises this nascent union. Animer, an acronym for “Acteurs Nationaux Indépendants Mode Engagée Régénérative,” aims to shine a light on all the initiatives undertaken by fashion stakeholders, from producers to brands, who are advancing responsible, regenerative fashion in France.
The union was founded by eight collectives involved in regenerative fashion – UAMEP
The union was officially launched on Monday January 19, following the petition initiated by Arielle Lévy against Shein in response to the watering down of the anti–fast fashion law. Titled “Paris deserves better than Shein,” the petition drew nearly 140,000 signatures. “I wanted us to unite because I realised how strong the civic voice was,” explains Arielle Lévy. “These collectives are doing superb work and, at a certain point, there is a desire to close ranks, to make society together,” she says.
“Breaking the isolation of initiatives across the regions”
In addition to UAMEP, a number of other collectives are behind Animer, including Fashion Revolution France, L’Âme du Fil (Angers), Collectif Baga (Marseille), Café Flax (Clermont-Ferrand), Le Comptoir de la mode responsable (Poitiers), Le Conservatoire de la Mode Vintage (Isère), and La Grande Collecte/Textile Lab (La Rochelle). “It’s a union of independent collectives, committed to their local areas and sharing the same societal project,” Arielle Lévy emphasises.
The union hopes to represent all French territories – Collectif Baga
The union plans to focus its efforts on the ground, working across supply chains, regions, practices and even our shared imagination. With “hundreds” of stakeholders already on board via the various founding collectives, Animer is built on ten key ideas: dignity, value-sharing, traceability as a common language, less and better, circular design, smart re-localisation, carbon sobriety, inclusion and plurality, cooperation rather than “sterile competition”, and proof through action.
Animer’s founders plan to bring together all the initiatives active in regenerative fashion across the country. The union hopes to become a preferred interlocutor in defending a societal project focused on respect for the earth, and for men and women. With the help of Fashion Revolution, it aims to act in the national interest by engaging the general public and the country’s institutions.
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