Valentino Under Court Supervision: Is Ethical Luxury Just a Myth?

Valentino, the icon of Italian luxury, is facing a serious image crisis. A Milan court has revealed that part of the brand's production was entrusted to companies that exploited workers in conditions that grossly violated labor laws. This is not just a shock for the fashion industry.

Valentino , a symbol of Italian elegance and timeless style, finds itself at the centre of one of the biggest scandals in recent years in the world of luxury.

A Milan court has placed Valentino Bags Lab under a one-year judicial review after it was revealed that the brand had outsourced production to Chinese companies based in Italy, which allegedly exploited their workers.

Red Valentino Bag / Unsplash, The Nix Company

According to the court ruling, Valentino Bags Lab outsourced production to external workshops, where a number of serious abuses were detected. Among them:

• no employment contracts,
• employment of illegal immigrants,
• 24-hour work,
• sleeping at work.

The inspections showed that one such factory, Bags Milano Srl , was sewing around 4,000 bags a month at 35–75 euros each. As you might imagine, the bags were sold to boutiques at prices of up to 2,200 euros.

This is yet another case – after Dior, Armani and Alviero Martini – in which an Italian court has responded to unethical practices in the supply chains of luxury brands . The judges said Valentino was “guilty” of a lack of supervision and turned a blind eye to the actions of subcontractors, counting on maximizing profits. The company has announced cooperation with the authorities and increased inspections, but its reputation has been seriously damaged.

Italian craftsmanship has been a pillar of the global luxury goods market for decades. But cases like this one cast a shadow over the prestige of "Made in Italy."

“After Armani and Dior, now Valentino… such things damage the prestige of ‘Made in Italy’,” Flavio Sciuccati, senior partner at consulting firm The European House – Ambrosetti Group, told BoF.

The debate about the value of luxury products has been going on for a long time. Recently, with the introduction of tariffs by Donald Trump , luxury brands have once again come under scrutiny. TikTok has been flooded with videos revealing the supposed truth about the " Made in Italy " label. While consumers have partially interpreted the whole action as an attempt to respond to the tariffs, such actions have shaken the image of the world's most powerful brands and prompted questions. The latest scandal involving Valentino certainly does not help the situation.