Designer brands; made in China Vs. made in Italy..any difference?
 

So I purchased a pair of Hugo Boss shoes over the weekend. Yes I know Hugo Boss shoes have the rep for been crap quality but I liked the overall fit and shape so I bought 'em. Anyways, the sales rep helping me out made it a point that the shoes were made in Italy and they were the highest of quality. I was like ok buddy I got it, so as I'm trying them on I decide to look at the inside label and find "made in China". I sorted of laughed at showed the sales rep, his face turned red and he said "sorry, I thought all Hugo Boss shoes were made in Italy....but there still high quality". I told him I don't care where the shoes were made, I liked them and that's why I'm buying them.

My question for the people who do buy designer stuff, do you care about where your designer clothing/shoes are made? Have your designer stuff say made in China been better or worse compared to stuff made in Italy?

don't people think Italy is much better quality just like everything lol

I have a few friends in the fashion industry -- one is a fabric designer and another a designer at a pretty major fashion house. I'm under the impression that with less-complicated pieces (ie., trainers, t-shirts, etc) its all about the individual producer -- some in China have great production quality, others shocking, and same goes with Italy. My good friend had major trouble with a Turkish factory, and had the clothes made in China instead.

More technical pieces should be made in Europe, as the facilities/experience/infrastructure exist there.

my take on italy vs china.
it all depends on the QE, quality control
some things are made in china and turns out just as gd as everything else made anywhere else. IT JUST DEPENDS ON THE QE
for example: NIKE makes all there NIKE AIR stuff in CHINA, COLE HAAN makes all their nike air collection in CHINA because its the only freakin place in the world with the factory to do it. IS IT crap quality when cole haans are one of the most comfortable shoes in the world.....?

other things could also be made in china and turn out crap quality.
if we still remember GAP a few years ago, there stuff were crap, made in CHINA
now, some would say including myself the quality on GAP is a lot better than a decade ago and yet there stuff is still made in CHINA. So i never understood why people automatically assume MADE IN CHINA is bad.

On the other side, I work for a SHOE COMPANY (NO NAMES GIVEN)
we buy stuff made in ITALY and send designs to be made there as well but we don't have our own QE there and last year we calculated a 10% shrink due to returns on things that fall apart.

SO IN THE END, ITS ALL ABOUT THE QE

Yah, I agree it is about QE. I've read a lot of factories setup up by designer houses in China and other parts of the world do have higher quality control. The other thing I've heard, and i'm not sure if it's a bs or not, is for example, some designers make clothing in lets say China but put the labels in Italy so they can put "made in Italy". Is this true?

nope it doesn't matter to me. I just assume because it's designer and expensive it should be good quality :rolleyes:

you are semi-correct

some of the products we buy are technically made in China or other parts of the world but a certain piece is manufactured in Italy or Brazil they are allowed to put "Made in Italy"

unforunately i work in the shoe industry so its going to be another example from there.

Shoes have uppers, lining and soles. The sole may be stamped "made in Brazil" but in fact the uppers and lining is made in China. The uppers do have a "made in China" stamp but its either hidden under the lining or hidden way inside the shoe so most people can't tell and assume its made in Brazil.

I no longer care because i have clothes made in italy that would fuck up after one wash and clothes made in china that would last me longer. I think clothes made in canada or the usa is much better. Clothes made in Japan have exceeded my expectations.

The made in China stuff is usually the lower end mass-market stuff. The stuff that is Made in Italy is usually seasonal and made in fewer pieces, hence more exclusive.

I have an assortment of Italian shoes from Valentino, Tod's and Gucci, and some Swiss shoes from Bally. However, I pretty much exclusively wear English shoes now.

haha i bought a BAPE polo in osaka a month ago and it says "Made by Human"

http://i624.photobucket.com/albums/t...5/DSC05609.jpg

^^If it's made in China, that's debatable.

Clothing not so much, but I am starting to care about where my shoes are made. I do usually look where shoes are made before buying them, but the details are just as important.

Btw, I did buy a pair of Hugo Boss loafers recently and they do happen to be "Made in Italy." I got them for a decent price (<$200) and they're fairly comfortable. As long as I maintain them, they should age gracefully; no complaints here.

It totally depends on the brand and how they want it made. Most people may not know it but a lot, if not most items now that are designer "made in Italy" are made by Chinese immigrants in Italy. The Chinese are taking over the factories of Europe as they can match the quality of their European rivals while simultaneously lowering prices. And its not just because of "cheap labor" either, many fabrics and supplies (i.e. check your zippers, most likely made by YKK, China) now are almost exclusively manufactured in China. The Chinese factory owners in Italy can get these materials cheaper and many also own these sourcing factories in China as well (economies of scale).

Also, many Chinese factory owners in Italy are training their factory supervisors in Italy so they can duplicate the european quality and standards back in China (same high quality, lower input costs). Thus, when shopping for quality textiles, looking at the "made in" label can be misleading in that they are probably made by the same companies and same people (whether it says made in Italy or made in China).

One last thing I'd like to add:

Some of the most sophisticated textiles produced today, requiring the highest of standards and advanced materials/processes are made in China. I am referring to gear used by elite athletes/scientists/explorers who venture into the most inhospitable environments on the planet. Places like the Artic and the Himalayas. It would be unwise to underestimate what's being produced in China today.

my dad's in the fashion industry and has said this about the brands he deals with - Valentino, Gucci and so forth.
Designer brands have no choice to but make the products in China or other countries, as they are 15X cheaper to make then Italy, France and other european (western) countries, where quality CAN be the same.

in the end it all depends on quality control.

that being said - Mainlanders, do not buy brand names - Valentino, Hugo, Gucci anymore because once they see where it's made. They think it's crap.
Why by China when i'm Chinamen.

What I've read and noticed is that mainlanders love designer brands-not because they like the quality but because they're trying to emulate wealthy Westerners. The only difference is that they don't have to pay for them since they either work or know someone who works in the very same factories and get get them for "free". :D

I watched a great doc about this vary subject. I can't find the video now but it basically showed how high end fashion items were been made by Chinese immigrants, they even made dresses for the Oscars.

OK ppl.....think a like you own a brand name fashion company.
Would you rather pay $8/hr minimum for people to make your products for you in North America or Europe or pay $0.08/hr minimum for people to make the same products in China and hire a couple trained quality control workers to keep the quality? And keep in mind, they can overwork and underpay their workers in China since labor regulations aren't as strict over in China than other countries. So you not only save on salary every year but also benefits and the amount of workers you need to hire.

This is strictly business talk. There is absolutely no reason to pay more for the same product.

People will continue to not buy "made in china" products no matter what we say. But in fact, they use many products that are made in China EVERY SINGLE DAY. Do we actually believe that if something says "made in brazil or italy" it is 100% completely not in China. You never know where they get the raw product from.

more like anything made in china gives people the fucking cheap basterd cheap out on materials again vs italy...people will think decent quality control as well as top notch material used. NoT trying to save a penny here and there by cutting corners....just like all made in china crap