According to a new expose by the Guardian, the vast majority of Louis Vitton’s high-priced “made in Italy” shoes aren’t actually made in Italy.
“Many of the shoes and boots [Louis Vitton] sells for between £500 and £1,800 a pair,” the Guardian writes, “are mostly made in Transylvania, a region better known for vampires than any tradition of luxury craftsmanship.”
It turns out that the majority of production occurs in the Transylvania-based Somarest factory, owned by LVMH since 2002, where they assemble just about everything save for the sole, which is applied in Italy in order to garner the coveted Made in Italy stamp (according to taxation and customs policies within the EU, the shoes can legally be labeled that way because Italy is where “the items underwent ‘the last, substantial, economically justified processing’”). And since 2004, production at the factory has increased from 1,500 pairs to around 100,000 pairs a year.
In a positive twist, however, the Somarest factory, which employs 734 people, appears to be one of the best in Romania, in terms of both quality and working conditions.
The Guardian even reached out to the local labor inspector, who called it “a point of pride in the community.”
Regardless of conditions, however, if you’re paying two grand for a pair of Italian-made shoes, it’d be nice if those shoes were, in fact, made in Italy.
You can read more about it at The Guardian.
