Inside Luxury’s Italian Sweatshops Problem

London Fashion Week; i-D's New Editor-in-Chief

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WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW TODAY: TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2024 Dear BoF Community, Big luxury brands trade on a carefully constructed marketing image powered by a heady collision of heritage and celebrity culture. Key to the storytelling are artful claims to high-quality and ethical craftsmanship. Now, an Italian investigation linking luxury brands to sweatshop labour has exposed an operating model that prosecutors say prioritises profits over worker welfare. How did sourcing practices diverge so radically from the marketing mythology that luxury brands have spent decades — and billions of dollars — constructing? "A blend of wilful ignorance, corporate greed and structural inertia," according to a months-long investigation by BoF's Chief Sustainability Correspondent Sarah Kent, who spoke to more than two dozen industry executives, supply-chain experts and people familiar with the Italian probe. The luxury industry has shrugged off scandals in the past, but the current controversy comes amid increased regulatory scrutiny, a market slowdown and growing debate on social media over whether luxury brands are really worth it. Read Sarah's story: "Inside Luxury's Italian Sweatshops Problem." Vikram Alexei Kansara, Editorial Director Plus, also in today's BoF Daily Digest newsletter: Tim Blanks reports from London Fashion Week: Burberry and JW Anderson. In London, designers kept calm and carried on being creative, writes Susanna Lau. Michael Kors testified in a federal court hearing that will decide the fate of Tapestry's acquisition of Capri, which owns his brand. Thom Bettridge has been appointed i-D's new editor-in-chief and chief brand officer.

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SUSTAINABILITY Inside Luxury's Italian Sweatshops Problem By Sarah Kent

An Italian probe linking luxury labels including Dior and Armani to labour exploitation — with the supply chains of up to a dozen more brands under the microscope — has exposed a seedy practice deeply embedded in the luxury system, creating an unpredictable PR crisis at a precarious time for the sector, a BoF investigation has found. READ MORE

FASHION WEEK London Fashion Week: What's Next? By Tim Blanks

JW Anderson and Burberry come up with very different answers to that question, writes Tim Blanks. READ MORE

FASHION WEEK London Designers Keep Calm and Carry On Being Creative By Susanna Lau

At London Fashion Week, designers largely stomached the market slowdown and got on with it, writes Susanna Lau. READ MORE

LUXURY Michael Kors Highlights Handbag Market Diversity in FTC Hearing By Bloomberg Michael Kors testified about the nature of the competitive landscape of the handbag market, as the FTC scrutinises Tapestry's $8.5 billion acquisition of Capri Holdings. READ MORE

MEDIA i-D Magazine Appoints Thom Bettridge Editor in Chief By Simone Stern Carbone The iconic British title owned by Karlie Kloss is set to resume print on a bi-annual cadence under Bettridge, formerly creative vice president of Ssense. READ MORE

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