PARIS — After being hit by a scandal over its subcontractors in Italy earlier this year, Dior is bolstering its in-house production arm.
The French luxury house revealed Wednesday the creation of a new industrial department, tasked with strengthening its overall production capacity over the long term and ensuring the continuity of its knowhow.
“It is more important than ever to sustainably support our various production processes at each stage of manufacturing, respecting the ethical regulations in force, overseeing all the house’s activities, while preserving and promoting Dior’s creativity, craftsmanship and exceptional savoir-faire,” said Delphine Arnault, chairman and chief executive officer of Christian Dior Couture.
Earlier this year Dior vowed to take a larger proportion of its production in-house after Italy’s competition authority launched investigation proceedings into several companies belonging to the Dior Group and the Armani Group for possibly misleading consumers. This followed a probe into allegations of worker exploitation at several Chinese-owned firms in Italy producing luxury goods.
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“Dior will follow the evolution of its artisanal products — notably the integration of production into its own ateliers — and will continue to offer the best working conditions to all who contribute, with immense commitment and remarkable knowhow, to create the finest quality Dior products,” the company said at the time.
To lead the new department, Dior has tapped Giorgio Striano, who will serve as chief industrial officer from Jan. 2.
Based in Milan and in charge of overseeing all industrial activities at Dior, Striano will report to Arnault and be a member of the French house’s executive committee.
The Italian native was most recently chief operating officer of EssilorLuxottica and Luxottica, a position he held for nine years. Prior to that he led major industrial operations, notably in Asia and the U.S., after beginning his career at Procter & Gamble.
Another hire for the new department is Nicolas Carré, who will succeed Patrice Guillemin as industrial director for leather goods, shoes and fashion jewelry from Sunday. Guillemin has been appointed industrial projects director and both will report to Striano.
A French native, Carré is an expert in leather goods and production and will be based in Florence. He joins Dior from Louis Vuitton, where he spent over two decades in various positions in its industrial departments in France, the U.S. and Italy. Most recently he was industrial director in charge of leather goods and accessories since 2020.
Prior to that, Carré was group development manager for the women’s leather goods collections and director of Vuitton’s historic Atelier d’Asnières.
