Handbag manufacturers sent TikTok into meltdown this week, claiming that massive designer brands make their bags in China - but is it true?
The majority of the world's designer luxury goods are made in China, not Europe, Chinese manufacturers have claimed on social media.
Handbag manufacturers from China sent TikTok into meltdown in recent weeks, claiming massive designer brands like Gucci, Prada, Louis Vuitton and Dior make their bags in China before shipping them to Europe to get "made in Italy" stamped on the tag.
In a now-removed video, bag craftsman Wang Sen claimed that 80 per cent of luxury bags are made in China.
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"Some say as long as there's a tag saying 'made in China', that bag can never be quality... however, in fact, more than 80 per cent of the luxury bags in the world are made in China," he says in the video.
"Those luxury brands just won't acknowledge that they take almost finished bags from China factories back to their own countries and just do the repackaging and logo installation... that way the bags will appear in their boutiques as 'made in Italy'."
He posted several other videos, showing the inside of the factories where he says the designer bags are made.
After the video went viral, hundreds more videos followed from other manufacturers making similar claims.
But is it true?
Are designer bags made in China?
Bily Dimoski, the Australian director of global fashion agency Deepwear, said parts of luxury items are manufactured in Asia and other countries - but not the whole bag.
"While China is a major player in global manufacturing, the claim that 80 per cent of luxury goods are made there oversimplifies a much more complex supply chain," she said.
"Brands like Louis Vuitton, you're looking at maximum 60 per cent of the bag being made (not in Europe)... and it's not the finished bag ... that is definitely happening, but it's not only out of China."
About 60 to 70 per cent of a luxury bag's components would be sourced and manufactured in Asia and other countries, with the remaining 30 to 40 per cent of the production complete in Europe, Dimoski said.
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"Luxury production is highly fragmented, luxury brands rely on a multiple-country model, materials and parts may be sourced out of Asia, but the design, finishing and assembly are often placed in Europe," she said.
"For example, Japan has great zippers, so (components) are probably coming from all different countries, but they'd do the finished piece in Europe."
Dimoski warned consumers to "think critically" before placing an online order with one of the Chinese manufacturers.
"What does exist in China is a large counterfeit market - factories are capable of producing high-grade counterfeits, they have the craftsmanship and technical skills to produce luxury products.
"I'm 100 per cent sure that (the bags) are counterfeits... China can develop high luxury products."
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Only a percentage of any item has to be made in the country that's attributed on the tag, for both luxury and non-luxury brands.
The "made in" label depends on where the last substantial transformation happens for the product, which could mean anything from a bag's assembly to leather tanning.
Dimoski says there's a grey area around the tags.
"Some brands only do the final stitching or packaging in Italy, just enough to meet legal requirements. Technically, that's allowed," she said.
Founder and director of Melbourne-based offshore clothing manufacturer, The Clothing Room, Kristy Sturgess, told 9news.com.au a large majority of high-end brands would have China in their supply chain.
"There are a lot of independent and high-end brands that are still producing out of China, it's not uncommon... to my knowledge, it's about 80 per cent," she said.
"Some would be coming from other countries like India or potentially Bali, and then you've got some brands, about 5 per cent, would be manufacturing (from start to finish) in Europe.
"They may be leaving a certain portion of the finishing to be done in Italy, and then they're able to label that was made there."
9news.com.au understands some luxury brands do not use Chinese factories at all to make their bags.
Prada has 26 industrial factories globally, with 23 in Italy.
Louis Vuitton says on its website that its products are made in France, Italy, Spain, the US and Switzerland, but does not specify the number of factories in each country.
Both Sturgess and Dimoski cautioned that the videos circulating online of factories claiming to manufacture for the big designer brands are more likely to feature high-quality fakes.
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How much do luxury bags cost to make?
When the videos started going viral on TikTok, some protested they had always known, while others were outraged by just how large the profit margins were on these luxury items, which cost well over $10,000.
One video by SENBAGS broke down the production cost of a Hermes Birkin bag to about $US1400 ($2200).
Birkin bags, which are made in France, sell for anywhere between $10,000 to $30,000 out of the store, and can reach up to $2 million in the elusive second-hand market, depending on the rarity of the bag.
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"A Birkin bag is not $30,000 to manufacture... there's always a 20 to 30 per cent upcharge when producing in Europe compared to Asia," Dimoski said.
"So on that $1400 figure, put about 30 to 40 per cent on top of that (for the cost)."
Dimoski said Deepwear have previously produced mid to high quality bags for between $70 to $150 wholesale.
Sturgess said online outrage about the price of making a Birkin bag "is justified".
"You're talking about a luxury brand that's selling a bag for $59,000... It's costing $1500 (for a high-quality replica) being made in China," Sturgess said.
"I can understand the uproar."
The luxury brands mentioned in this article did not respond to a request for comment.
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