Am I insane to love my designer bag?

Have I been duped by the luxury labels? Are they all made in China?

This is the little Prada bag I bought from Joseph on Brompton Cross 20 years ago. It was just shy of £700. A lot. I thought my 40% editor’s discount courtesy of Prada would be applied, but sadly not. That would happen only if I bought the bag from a Prada store. Ah well, I loved my little bag so much I kept it on the mantelpiece in my living room as a work of art. It has been with me on every first date, attended every awards ceremony (there have been many, despite what my least favourite reader has surmised), has sat on numerous restaurant tables, giving me much needed confidence and company. Sometimes, such as at the dearly departed fashion haunt and Diana favourite Le Caprice, it was given its own chair. I think my Prada bag has earned its keep. It doesn’t hold much, but it is stuffed full of memories.

Given the bag is so old it’s now, like me, vintage, I am certain it was Made in Italy. But this week, in retaliation to President Trump’s tariffs, numerous videos on TikTok and elsewhere have been exposing the ‘truth’ behind the luxury labels. ‘Eighty per cent of Gucci is made in China.’ ‘Luxury brands charge us a 3,000% to 5,000% mark up.’ ‘A Birkin bag from Hermes costs $38,000 but $1,000 to make.’

I was in Istanbul recently, and was amazed at the quality of knock-off Vuitton, Dior and Prada bags on offer in the bazaars. Of course, I knew these were fake, so stopped myself from purchasing a Vuitton hold all for £300. But are the bags and shoes sold in stores on Bond Street, Avenue Montaigne and Via Della Spiga any different?

Very few brands are still Made in Britain. Jaeger was once made here. Marks & Spencer, when I asked the corporate press office for the percentage of its own brand clothing and accessories made in the UK, were vague: ‘Can you provide a bit more detail on what you require this information for? Good to understand the context of your piece.’ Which is fine, as the label and the price points reflect that we are not talking about ateliers on Bond Street. Mulberry still manufactures in the UK, with two factories in Somerset. Niche brands such as NavyGrey manufacture in the UK, but they are tiny. Brands which manufacture overseas are trying to keep price points down. And the jobs in places such as Bangladesh are vital, as long as a living wage is paid and working conditions are safe. M&S does not use any factory over one storey high.

So, is it true that luxury brands such as Gucci, Prada et al are not ‘Made in Italy’ by artisans, but made overseas. Are they duping us?

You can understand why this isn’t a conversation the fashion magazines are willing to have, given their reliance on advertising revenue. As a former glossy editor, I know how fierce these brands’ door keepers can be. When I was editor of Marie Claire I received an angry fax from a luxury Italian brand, saying the celebrity I’d chosen for the cover was not famous enough to wear their clothes; what the Italian PR meant, of course, was that she was not white enough.

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