‘Made in Italy’: is the label just another luxury fashion illusion?

Not all that it seems … Italian fashion houses such as Loro Piana are coming under scrutiny. Photograph: Loro Piana

For years shoppers have been aware of scandals about the origins of cheap clothing sold in high street stores. Garment industry workers who make clothes for leading brands have been beaten for asking for living wages and notes pleading for help have been found hidden in clothing. There have also been stories about hidden child labour and some workers in UK factories are feared to be trapped in modern slavery.

Now after a series of labour investigations by Milanese prosecutors, the luxury fashion industry is fast coming under similar scrutiny.