MILAN — Diego Della Valle got vocal on Friday, expressing his criticism of the conduct of Milan prosecutors in their allegations of labor abuse in Tod’s supply chain that emerged on Wednesday.
Gathering journalists in the afternoon at the group’s headquarters on Milan’s Corso Venezia, the Tod’s Group chairman and chief executive officer clarified the company’s position in the probe — which alleged the group had sub-suppliers engaged in sweatshop schemes it failed to properly audit. Della Valle did not get into specifics as a matter of respect for and protection against the ongoing proceedings.
The executive also voiced his defense of Made in Italy ethics.
“What I have seen happen truly does not reflect our mentality, does not reflect what we have sought to build over the past 50 to 60 years — my family, us, my children, my brother [Andrea Della Valle]. We make ethical values a pivotal factor in any situation, all the more so in business matters,” Della Valle said, echoing his company’s statement issued on Wednesday when the probe was made public.
“When it comes to my group, we don’t just do beautiful goods, we do truly excellent goods of absolute quality, [imbued] with craftsmanship that we oversee in every possible way, with workshops, [employing] young people…in short, those who know us know these things, and to speak lightly about such topics as if we were truly criminals is, in my opinion, something to be ashamed of,” he said.
As reported, Milan prosecutor Paolo Storari had been investigating Tod’s’ value chain since last year, unearthing alleged labor abuse and poor working conditions at a handful of its subcontractors in the Lombardy and Marche regions. The former were reportedly involved in the production of staff uniforms, while the latter were allegedly supplying footwear’s upper parts.
Tod’s is not facing any criminal charges, but Milan prosecutors have requested that the Italian luxury brand be put under judicial administration.
However, as reported, a Milan court and a Milan Appeals Court ruling dismissed the judicial administration procedure in relation to incidents in the Lombardy region and asked for the relocation to the Court of Ancona, in Italy’s Marche, for proceedings related to the incidents occurred in the latter region. Storari appealed the decisions to the Court of Cassation, Italy’s highest appeal court, which led to the probe being uncovered.
A hearing in Storari’s appeal is scheduled for Nov. 19.
On Friday, Della Valle criticized Storari’s approach to the investigation, claiming that allegations were made lightheartedly, ignoring the ripple effect they could have on Made in Italy.
“I see that over the past year, four or five companies have been placed under investigation — coincidentally, all luxury companies, all very well-known, all questioned by the same prosecutor,” he said. “I prefer not to interfere in ongoing matters, [but] it makes me suspect that perhaps the use of certain actions might stem from a need for popularity, which in this case hurts us deeply. Therefore, we cannot stay silent,” Della Valle argued.
Cautioning against indiscriminate use of power, Della Valle urged entrepreneurs to be reactive. “Today, I am reacting.…If we never speak up, nothing will ever change,” he opined. “With the great respect due to Italian laws, we must, however, raise a finger and say: you are creating serious trouble for us. You must urgently find a solution that provides Italian law enforcement with all the necessary tools to monitor everything, but at the same time grants us the ability to work.…Made in Italy must be protected,” he said.
“Audit us as thoroughly as possible — of course — but with judgment, not superficially, because you are touching on extremely delicate matters,” Della Valle said.
“Prosecutor Paolo Storari, whom I do not know, is officially invited to come and visit my companies, and then I challenge him, if he dares, to claim that we are people who are not law-abiding, people who do not care about respect,” he continued. “And I believe that other Italian companies would gladly invite him, as well,” he said.
“We are addressing an extremely delicate subject: Our country is one of the strongest excellences [in luxury fashion] on a global scale. Everyone acknowledges our leadership.
“If someone calls this into question, lightly, it causes us great harm. It causes great harm to the country, to craftsmanship, to young people who are looking for a job in companies that might no longer exist,” he added.
Tod’s spring 2026
Giovanni Giannoni/WWD
Like Tod’s probe, others made public over the past two years and involving, among others, Loro Piana, Valentino, Dior and Giorgio Armani alleged that the luxury brands failed in properly auditing their value chain partners.
As a result, brands have been put into judicial administration to correct and enhance audits and oversight through court-mandated procedures. Dior’s and Giorgio Armani’s probes were fully resolved and the judicial oversight lifted.
Della Valle noted that current law requesting companies to hit the third tier of the sub-supplying chain is hardly feasible.
“One must be careful not to assume that we know what happens within a [supplier] company. Once we have evaluated it and the company meets our requirements, they sign a contract with us, a contract that protects everything: welfare, pricing, what we pay, everything is detailed. After that, whatever happens inside, even if one might expect us to know, how could we possibly know? We are not the finance police, after all,” Della Valle explained.
“We have an [auditing] division that deals with this full time…but then, if a supplier does whatever they want behind closed doors, we don’t see it; if they work at night, we don’t know. This is where we need to delve into the specifics of the law and think about how to rewrite certain rules, because the current ones are not compatible and are very frustrating for us entrepreneurs. I can say that I don’t know a single reputable entrepreneur who would even remotely think of exploiting the people they work with,” he said.
The scene at Tod’s cocktail party.
Nina Westervelt/WWD
“As far as we are concerned, if we notice something [unlawful], [contract termination] becomes automatic. And the law states that we must go down the entire supply chain, to the third level. That is not possible, because we don’t have the authority to do such things, nor do we truly have the competence. We must stop at the first level and then certify that the first level is a serious and reliable one,” Della Valle said.
“I strongly believe that there must be rigorous and relentless monitoring, but when someone is almost in compliance, they cannot have a Sword of Damocles suddenly thrown upon them, sometimes only because of the notoriety they represent,” he said.
Della Valle is not alone. Industry associations, including Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana and Confindustria Moda, have been equally vocal about the need for a shared, nationwide auditing system.
Ongoing negotiations with the Ministry of Enterprises and Made in Italy are reportedly closer to a draft law.
Addressing the Tod’s probe this week, minister Adolfo Urso said: “Tod’s is an Italian brand of great standing and excellence, with an indisputable international reputation. This reputation must be safeguarded, especially today, as Made in Italy is perceived worldwide as equivalent to beautiful, good, and well-crafted [goods], but also increasingly as sustainable from an environmental, social and legal standpoint.”
Tod’s men’s spring 2026
Courtesy of Tod’s
“We’ve included a legislative measure in the draft law on small businesses and craftsmanship currently under examination in the Senate to find an upstream solution that safeguards the reputation of Made in Italy,” he said. The law would allow companies to have their entire supply chain preventively certified by a third party for suppliers’ compliance with environmental, social and labor laws.
“With this preventive certification we can more effectively combat all forms of labor exploitation, which we must, of course, suppress, while also safeguarding the reputation of our brands, something we cannot afford to compromise,” he said.
Touting the ministry’s approach to the issue on Friday, Della Valle concluded: “Protecting ourselves does not mean neglecting control in order to safeguard the country. We do need to monitor everything, but do it properly so that we are in a position to work.”
