Unveiling the Dark Side of Luxury: Dior and Armani’s Hidden Labor Practices

Luxury goods makers behind iconic brands such as Dior and Armani have come under scrutiny. These luxury brands are hiring contractors that pay workers as little as $2 an hour (₹165) to make handbags, which are then sold for thousands of dollars apiece, according to European law enforcement officials.

Dior, the French multinational luxury fashion house chaired by mogul Bernard Arnault and his family, charges a supplier around $57 (₹4,710) to manufacture a handbag that it sells in stores for approximately $2,780 (₹229,000), according to The Wall Street Journal.

Similarly, Armani, the Milan-based designer, paid $270 (₹22,250) to a supplier to make handbags. These were then sold on the retail market for just under $2,000 (₹165,000), as reported by the Journal.

Italian authorities uncovered these figures after police conducted a series of raids on workshops and makeshift factories employing illegal immigrants and others working “off the books,” according to the Journal.

Prosecutors in Milan accused the companies of hiring subcontractors who employed Chinese migrants and other foreign workers, paying them as little as $2 to $3 an hour (₹165 to ₹250).

These workers often slept in the workshops and were forced to work from dusk until dawn, including on holidays and weekends, it was alleged.

Last month, Italian judges ordered a subsidiary of Dior, Armani, and Alviero Martini Spa—another luxury fashion maker known for map-print bags and other items—to be placed under court administration after ruling that their manufacturing units mistreated migrant workers.

The Post has sought comments from Dior, Armani, and Alviero Martini.

Armani outsources the manufacturing of its products to GA Operations, an in-house production company. In response to the raids, the fashion house denied any wrongdoing by GA Operations, which produces apparel, accessories, and home decor for the Giorgio Armani Group brands.