Loro Piana’s Quiet Luxury Faces Loud Allegations

Loro Piana is suddenly making noise for all the wrong reasons. The revered Italian brand — synonymous with understated elegance and the kind of cashmere that whispers wealth — has found itself at the center of a damning labor scandal that might just upend the pristine narrative of “quiet luxury.”

Earlier this week, Milan’s labor protection unit placed the company under court administration following shocking reports of undocumented workers, 90-hour work weeks, and makeshift dormitories inside a sweatshop. The brand, now the fifth high-end Italian label caught in a similar web, claims ignorance. In a statement, Loro Piana said they terminated ties with the subcontractor in question within 24 hours of learning about the violations. But this rapid disassociation feels less like accountability and more like damage control.

Let’s be clear: no one is expecting billion-euro conglomerates like LVMH—Loro Piana’s parent company—to micromanage every sewing machine in the global supply chain. But the illusion that luxury brands operate on a higher moral plane than fast fashion was always just that—an illusion. If you’re selling coats that retail for €5,000 while paying €4 an hour for the labor behind them, you’re not creating timeless elegance. You’re packaging exploitation in alpaca and calling it heritage.

The official statements speak in polished legalese: “unauthorized subcontractors,” “breach of contract,” and “firm condemnation of illegal practices.” Yet behind those euphemisms are real people sleeping in factory-floor dorms with no heat, no status, and no choice. That’s the part luxury rarely advertises.

What’s more disturbing is how predictable this all feels. The high-end fashion world has long thrived on opacity. Price tags are inflated, supply chains obscured, and ethics conveniently outsourced. This case just rips the cashmere curtain down.

If Loro Piana genuinely wants to retain the trust of its clientele—the ones who pay thousands for the idea of artisanal perfection—it will need to do more than issue well-worded statements. Transparency shouldn’t be reactive. It should be the foundation.