“In Italy, we compare everything to food,” says Alberto Candiani, the fourth-generation owner of leading Italian denim producer Candiani Denim. “We claim it is the best food in the world — and it might be — but what makes it special is the way we cook it. We take our time, we use the right ingredients. It’s very regional. All over Italy, you will find different nuances and details. Our approach to fashion is the same.”
Everywhere you go in Italy, from Piedmont to Prato, fashion brands and suppliers share some version of this sentiment. They say ‘Made in Italy’ is more than a label; it’s a source of regional and national pride — a blend of art and engineering, cultivated by centuries of craftsmanship, passed down from generation to generation.
“It’s a way of life,” says Luca Sburlati, CEO of Pattern Group and president of trade organization Confindustria Moda. “And it’s the last complete fashion supply chain in Europe, where you have everything from the raw material to the finished product in one country.”
On Tuesday, Vogue World lands in Milan, to explore the importance of artisans and the human touch in the age of technology. But even beyond the battle over AI, Italian manufacturing finds itself at a crossroads.
As Vogue Business reported back in 2024, as part of our Made in Italy series, the fashion supply chain is sprawling and fragmented, made up primarily of small, family-owned enterprises that struggle to keep up with the growing burden of regulation. It is exposed to the full breadth of climate change, from flooding and hurricanes to wildfires and extreme heat.
And while Italy does indeed offer the full spectrum of fashion production processes, it struggles to grow the raw materials they rely on. And, perhaps, the most critical challenge: young Italians don’t necessarily want to follow in their family’s footsteps anymore, leaving many factories with an aging workforce and an impending talent crisis.
Then, two years ago, Italian prosecutors uncovered worker exploitation in factories, as well as subcontractors allegedly supplying luxury fashion brands. Nearly 30 brands have been named in the time since, challenging the notion that Made in Italy means superior quality, craftsmanship, and ethics.
Sweeping efforts to clean up the supply chain followed, including increased audits, a voluntary agreement around supplier contracts, and closer relationships between brands and suppliers. But as Italy forges a new path forward, the question remains: what does Made in Italy stand for now, and how can the industry secure its future?
Cleaning up the supply chain
One of the fundamental tensions at the heart of Made in Italy is what exactly it means. Legally, brands can claim the label as long as the “last substantial transformation” was completed in the country, meaning a lot of garments sold under the Made in Italy label were actually made elsewhere, and simply finished in Italy.
Currently, consumers have no way of knowing the truth, as fashion supply chains are notoriously opaque, but incoming digital product passport regulations are about to change that. Moving forward, brands will have to disclose where each step of the supply chain took place.
For suppliers practicing vertical integration, it’s a welcome change. “Right now, Made in Italy is a way to justify high margins and higher prices.
It’s expensive, but it doesn’t necessarily correspond to luxury or better quality,” says Candiani. “Brands have been taking advantage of Made in Italy as a marketing tool, while squeezing the supply chain just like the non-luxury brands.
It should be about the premium price you’re willing to pay because something is actually better.”
Without doubt, Made in Italy is more expensive than its competitors in Türkiye and China, as well as its European counterparts in Portugal and Spain. And costs continue to rise.
“The latest energy crisis is making everything more expensive,” says Candiani, noting that higher labor costs are compounded by Italy’s reliance on gas, which has been hard-hit by disruptions in Russia and the Middle East. “We are no longer competitive, and it’s hard to motivate brands [to buy Made in Italy] when we cost twice as much as Turkish suppliers.”
The legions of small factories that make up Made in Italy are particularly vulnerable to these fluctuations, says Nomasei co-founder Marine Braquet, whose partner factory in Tuscany is a prime example of how suppliers are adapting to this new reality. The owner recently managed to convince an investment fund to buy up the smaller workshops he relies on to make various components, building resilience for his own company by protecting the ecosystem around it.
“Now, not only will he not disappear,” says fellow Nomasei co-founder and creative director Paule Tenaillon, “but neither will the people he needs to keep making shoes.”
Similar processes are underway up and down the country. Luxury brand Loro Piana, for example, just opened a state-of-the-art factory in Ghemme, encompassing the entire knitwear production cycle, from yarn to finished garments.
“Whoever invests in larger scale production and integrating much more of the supply chain is going to benefit,” says Ettore Piacenza, general director of Italian manufacturer Piacenza 1733, which supplies fleeces and fabrics to the tailoring and haute couture sectors. “Because a supply chain that’s very spread out is very difficult to control.”
Cleaning up the supply chain and bringing more competencies under one roof might help future-proof the supply chain, but only if brands are willing to pay what’s necessary to guarantee good ethics and strong oversight, says Politecnico di Milano associate professor Dr. Hakan Karaosman, a specialist in just transition and supply chain management.
“Suppliers are watching their orders shrink, and some brands are even asking for discounts. They’re sitting in a pressure cooker,” he explains.
“The problem is that factories outsource when they are under pressure to move quickly or produce things for a lower price,” adds Braquet.
Sburlati says there is a clear path forward for fashion, which starts with adopting the National Collective Labor Contract (a sector-specific agreement negotiated between trade unions and companies to set baseline pay, hours and working conditions). The next thing brands need to do is reassess their instinct to squeeze suppliers on cost, he adds.
“If you want to do something great, you have to pay your suppliers in the proper way. If not, you push them to do something you don’t want.”
After the recent probes, some seem to be taking heed of this, says Karaosman. “For the first time, I’m seeing less ego. Brand teams are finally realizing the problems suppliers are facing, and they’re starting to push back against detached executives.” This can mean co-investing in sustainability initiatives, protecting suppliers’ margins so they can uphold better standards without subcontracting, and offering more realistic contracts. “They’re trying to help the suppliers.”
Attracting — and retaining — the next generation
Leather handbag brand DeMellier, which is designed in London and largely manufactured in the Spanish town of Ubrique, recently expanded its production to Italy’s Le Marche region. Just as Biella is known for noble fibers and Como excels in silk production, Le Marche is famed for its footwear.
The specificity of its craftsmanship was what drew the brand in. “The factory we work with has been passed down three generations,” explains design director Eefje Frankenhuis.
“A lot of their footwear techniques are built around 3D assembly, which has now evolved into handbags. That process means they’re really good at soft architectural silhouettes, like our Stockholm bag which has a rounded curve at the top, outlined by a metal zip, and folded pleats into the sides.
It takes a lot of technique, which is hard to find elsewhere.”
But all over Italy, hyper-local and hyper-specific know-how is trapped in the minds and hands of an aging workforce, many of whom are quickly approaching retirement, with no apprentices lined up to carry the torch. Other European production hubs are in a similar position, especially where highly paid, remote and technology-forward white collar jobs are so plentiful.
“It’s really difficult to find specialized and professional people willing to work in textiles or manufacturing,” says Candiani. “People don’t like to be in a factory for eight hours a day.”
According to Confindustria Moda, Italy’s fashion and textiles supply chain is on track to lose around 90,000 workers to retirement in the next decade. That’s why, earlier this year, the organization signed a memorandum of understanding with Confindustria Accessori Moda and Italy’s Ministry of Education and Merit, designed to bridge the gap between industry and education, strengthening the country’s network of higher technical institutes (ITS), which act as feeder schools for factory-based roles.
“It’s going very well,” says Sburlati. “We need to show the next generation that they will get good jobs when they come out, and those jobs are absolutely needed.”
Factories also have a role to play, adds Piacenza. “At Piacenza, we have 100 years of the same family working with the same machinery — son, father and grandfather,” he explains.
“But nowadays, people change their jobs so quickly without specializing in something. They discover new things and maybe they’re more willing to leave their hometown or pursue new job opportunities that have opened up with technology.
If you want to continue your business, you have to be able to attract talent and create an ambiance that keeps them in the company.”
To do this, Piacenza says he is investing in welfare schemes and company culture, while weighing an internal academy to accelerate training and preserve generational know-how, following in the footsteps of other suppliers like HModa in Milan or Manteco in Prato.
Getting young people into factory roles is one hurdle, but getting them up to speed is another entirely. “When somebody is just starting out, it takes a while before they become skilled enough to work independently,” says Frankenhuis.
“It’s an investment factories need to be willing to make, but brands have to be patient and reflect that investment in the fees they pay too. It has to be a partnership.
We’re obligated to pass it forward and not let this disappear.”
“There is no future for Made in Italy without the suppliers, without their know-how and the ecosystems around them,” says Karaosman. “We need to make craftsmanship sexy again.”