One of my favorite places, the mall revolves around shopping and interacting with people. It is one of the places where me and my friends frequently gather. After a day of window shopping, eating, and sometimes shopping, we always end the day by going to Neiman Marcus and staring at the shoe department because in many ways, it is a collage of the worst shoe designs I have ever seen. As I get older, I have learned that money can’t buy taste, but these luxury fashion brands are getting that message across. With an in-depth expose on the actual manufacturing process of these luxury items, I wonder why anyone still strives for an expensive look and feel.
The idea was sparked by news that Italian police had raided a ship-building factory full of illegal immigrant workers and other “off-the-books” workers. Christian Dior and Giorgio Armani“The Milan prosecutor accused the two companies of hiring subcontractors who employed Chinese immigrants and other foreign workers at low wages, between $2 and $3 per hour,” the court said in its ruling. The court also accused the two companies of running poor working conditions, reporting that “investigators found evidence that workers slept in the facilities so bags could be produced around the clock. … They also tracked electricity consumption data that showed work was being done at night and on holidays.” It is sheer hypocrisy that luxury handbags are being made in poorly maintained facilities by workers who cannot even afford a living wage, let alone an expensive handbag.
Speaking of these handbags, other information from the case revealed that “Dior paid suppliers $57 to produce bags that retailed for approximately $2,780.” Armani also participated in this practice, “paying only $99 per bag for a product that sold for over $1,900 in stores.” In other words, this is the luxury to aspire to. In shoddy conditions, workers are not paid or treated well for their work, and bags are produced at exorbitant prices so that the rich and those desperate to join the club can say they are elite, exclusive, and apart from the general class.
This example isn’t new for many types of goods. Luxury cosmetic brands work in the same factories that you’ll find in drugstores. But, of course, people still invest in luxury goods to earn points. From the outside looking in, I just laugh at the allegiance to the fake wealthy. And yet, as my generation gets older and begins to build wealth in terrible economic times, we take a step back and analyze the status symbols and goods we were taught to work for and what they are valuable to us.