Designer labels are luxury items that bear the mark of an iconic designer, including clothing, shoes, and handbags. Some designer labels are discreet, while others prominently display the designer’s logo. Knockoffs are illegal but widely available. The industry is vulnerable to economic downturns, and some labels manufacture products in sweatshops with sub-standard working conditions.
“Designer label” is a term most often used to describe luxury items that bear the mark of an iconic designer. These luxury items generally include items such as: clothing, shoes, and handbags. Other designer items can be fragrances, cosmetics, and home furnishings. While some designer labels place the designer’s logo or name prominently on their products, others present their brand more discreetly, such as on the inner label or packaging only.
While name-brand and designer-brand products were once considered a luxury only the wealthy could afford, the wide availability of credit and the increased manufacture and importation of imitation brand-name products have made designer labels more widely available. for the masses. In recent decades, some expensive designer labels have even become associated specifically with low-income consumers who want to portray an image of wealth. Although the manufacture and sale of imitation products or “knockoffs” is illegal, these products are still widely available and are being sold online, from street vendors, and even at certain outlets. Some knockoffs mimic the designer’s label product so expertly that the difference is not apparent to most people, while others mimic the brand’s design or logo but have a slight variation in spelling.
In a depressed economy, the designer label industry is one of the first to take a financial hit from declining sales. Unlike recession-proof industries that provide basic necessities and services, designer brands and labels primarily offer luxury products. Even designer products that are considered household staples, such as towels and sheets, generally cannot maintain the same level of sales in an economic downturn. Instead, consumers are more likely to purchase the same products offered by no-name or generic brands, which are priced much lower.
One of the biggest controversies regarding designer labels is that some labels manufacture their products in sweatshops, giving workers sub-minimum wages and sub-standard working conditions. Factory manufacturing of designer label items can take place in both developing and developed countries. In Italy, for example, large numbers of Chinese immigrants are regularly recruited to manufacture designer brand products bearing the description “Made in Italy.” Certain high-profile fashion houses occasionally outsource their hand-sewing of bags and garments which may then be outsourced to a factory that exploits its workers.
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