Gucci to Off-White — Italian police raided 13 luxury brands over sweatshop conditions

In early 2025, Milan prosecutor Paolo Storari launched a sweeping investigation into labour exploitation in the supply chains of Italy's luxury fashion industry. The probe expanded to 13 brands — Gucci, Prada, Versace, Dolce & Gabbana, Yves Saint Laurent, Off-White, Missoni, Ferragamo, Givenchy, Alexander McQueen, Adidas Italy, Pinko, and Coccinelle. Earlier investigations had already ensnared Loro Piana, Dior's Italian subsidiary, Giorgio Armani Operations, Alviero Martini, Tod's, and Valentino Bags Lab. Five brands were placed under court administration.

Prosecutors documented a systematic pattern: Chinese and Pakistani migrant workers employed at Chinese-owned subcontractor workshops were paid as little as €2.75 per hour, worked 90-hour weeks, and slept in degrading conditions inside the factories — some among piles of leather and unfinished accessories. At five suppliers inspected in November 2025, inspectors found wage and hour violations, safety breaches, and substandard housing. Police searches recovered luxury bags, wallets, and clothing being produced in these conditions.

The investigation revealed a structural problem. Big brands imposed prices on first-tier suppliers too low to cover costs, pushing them to subcontract to unregulated workshops. Investigators found up to seven levels of subcontracting, with luxury goods produced for tens of euros and resold for thousands. In December 2025, police visited all 13 brand headquarters and demanded governance documents and supply-chain audit records. Prada cut ties with over 200 suppliers in January 2026 after internal audits found violations — far larger than any brand had disclosed.

Italy's Industry Minister Adolfo Urso said the reputation of 'Made in Italy' was 'under attack.' Deborah Lucchetti of the Clean Clothes Campaign called worker exploitation a 'structural phenomenon' and said 'Made in Italy cannot be a stage on which to celebrate astronomical profits built on the denial of dignity.' The probe exposed the paradox at the heart of Italian luxury: products marketed as artisan craftsmanship were being sewn by exploited migrant workers in unregulated workshops.

Prosecutors raided 13 brands, forcing Prada to cut 200+ suppliers, exposing that price pressure pushed subcontracting to unregulated workshops.

Luxury brands outsourced production to first-tier suppliers, who then subcontracted to unregulated workshops to meet price demands — creating a chain of exploitation invisible to the brands themselves

The 'Made in Italy' label lost its meaning when products were found stitched in sweatshops by workers earning €2.75/hour, not by Italian artisans in heritage ateliers

Prada cut over 200 suppliers after audits showed violations — no brand had real visibility past the first tier of its supply chain

A supply chain with four layers of subcontracting is a blindfold. Brands that outsource without end-to-end oversight are licensing their reputation to the lowest labour bidder.