The coveted ‘Made in Italy’ label faces increasing scrutiny and existential challenges, from supply chain scrutiny and evolving EU regulations to climate change and threats to heritage craft. This article is part of a new series where we unpack what these pressures mean for the future, and sustainability, of luxury fashion. Read more here.

In an industrial estate not far from the Tuscan city of Pistoia, surrounded by rolling hills, lies the 116-year-old hatmaker Facopel. I visited the Gruppo Florence-owned factory in early October, a week after it inaugurated its new production hub. In the entryway, a glass case displays the last hat prototype Lee McQueen worked on with Facopel before his death, still adorned with his handwritten feedback on bright yellow post-it notes. Next to it hangs a sign: “He who works with the hands is a worker. He who works with the hands and the mind is an artisan. He who works with the hands, the mind and the heart is an artist.”