What is luxury, really?

What is luxury, really?

This question takes on a whole new meaning in the light of recent revelations about ‘sweatshops’ in the suburbs of Milan, where bags from major luxury brands are manufactured in deplorable conditions. According to an enquiry by the Milan public prosecutor's office and an investigation by Business of Fashion, workers were producing and packaging these bags in unworthy environments. A Milan court has opened an investigation into several luxury brands, accused of turning a blind eye to the illegal practices of their subcontractors.

In these workshops, Chinese workers assembled bags costing 53 euros, which were then sold for 2,600 euros each. The workers, some of whom were paid under the table, lived in adjacent premises and worked on machines whose safety devices had been deactivated. One of them claimed to be paid 6 euros an hour, well below the legal minimum wage for leather workers, set at 8.82 euros in Italy.

Unsurprisingly, the brands concerned denied any knowledge of these abuses, citing an anomaly in their supposedly rigorous control processes. But the prosecutors claim that the abuses are systemic, deeply rooted in an economic model that prioritises maximising profits over workers' rights. Although ethical codes do exist, their application is based on privatised inspections, marred by conflicts of interest and risks of corruption. In Italy, suppliers are often warned in advance of inspections, enabling them to conceal any infringements. The myth of ‘Made in Italy’ is largely based on low-cost Chinese labour, which has been present in the country since the 1990s.

While European luxury brands pride themselves on an image of durability and exclusivity, this case - which may be just the tip of the iceberg - raises a fundamental question about our conception of luxury. How can we savour the purchase of an expensive piece, knowing that it bears the invisible marks of the suffering of the workers who made it?