Giorgio Armani and Dior continue to be under the Italian government’s probe, now to see if the brands have “misled” consumers

The news continue to put two prominent European brands in unflattering light. According to Reuters, the antitrust authority of Italy is looking into the possibility of Armani and Dior misleading consumers. This comes after prosecutors inquired about worker exploitation at the factories of suppliers of the two brands. By now, news of the physical conditions in which factory workers are put under have become more than perturbing, they are causing consumers to consider the true value of luxury merchandise. More so when the production cost of Dior bags against the selling price was recently revealed.

According to Reuters, Milanese prosecutors have found workshops in the outskirts of the “fashion capital” where (mostly) illegal Chinese immigrants work for pittance, producing bags for Dior and Armani to make staggering profits. Chinese-owned Italian suppliers to the two brands are now under scrutiny. The Italian competition watchdog has said that “the companies (Dior and Armani) may have issued untrue statements about their ethics and social responsibility, in particular with regard to working conditions and compliance with the law by their suppliers.”

As complicated as the issues at stake are, it is hard not to think that it all boils down to greed. Rapaciousness has always been an issue among companies that only desire to go bigger and bigger, to sell more and more. It seems to be more pronounced now. Make at the lowest cost and peddle with exorbitant prices is a mantra that has made many shoppers wonder how luxurious their purchases really are. How luxe is a handbag made by the overworked, living in quarters described as squalid? It is now hard to stand in front of a Dior or Armani window and see only the bags. Prestige is, as it has been before, an illusion.

Photo illustration: Just So