“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.”