Thirteen further leading luxury brands, including Gucci, Versace and Yves Saint Laurent, are suspected of having used subcontractors in Italy who exploited Chinese workers, according to a request issued on Thursday by the Italian judicial authorities.
A Pakistani worker makes a phone call during an indefinite strike at a ready-to-wear factory owned by a Chinese company in Prato, central Italy, on 1 August 2025. – Stefano Rellandini / AFP
In a request for information seen by AFP, a prosecutor in Milan said they had found bags, wallets and garments from these brands during searches of Italian workshops employing ‘Chinese labour in severely exploitative conditions’.
Thursday’s proceedings concern brands from the French group Kering (Gucci, Yves Saint Laurent and Alexander McQueen), Givenchy (LVMH group), as well as Prada and its new acquisition, Versace, along with Ferragamo, Pinko, Dolce & Gabbana, Missoni, Off-White, leather goods maker Coccinelle, and the sportswear giant Adidas.
The Milan prosecutor is asking the brands, which are presumed innocent, to provide documents on their supply chains promptly, such as internal audits.
Other leading names have already been singled out by the Italian judiciary in similar cases: Dior, LVMH’s second-largest brand, the leather goods houses Tod’s and Alviero Martini, as well as an Armani subsidiary and cashmere specialist Loro Piana.
Poverty pay, workers sleeping in the workshop to produce items sold for thousands of euros: investigations carried out by the Milan public prosecutor’s office have revealed a serious lack of oversight across supply chains.
Under Italian law, companies can be held liable for violations committed by authorised suppliers. Advocates for fashion workers have been denouncing such abuses for decades.
The Italian government has gone on the offensive to defend its brands, with the Minister for Industry and ‘Made in Italy‘, Adolfo Urso, declaring that their reputation was ‘under attack’.
Tod’s, after denying any irregularities, was given an 11-week period by a Milan judge on Wednesday to strengthen its system for monitoring suppliers.
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