Can Gucci lace up the 'Made in China' strategy?

Last week, Gucci's quiet release of a "Made in China" sneaker marked a pivotal shift for the French luxury brand, testing the boundaries of a brand identity built on over a century of Italian craftsmanship.

The centrepiece of the launch is the Drip sneaker, Demna’s first sneaker design for Gucci, priced around US$1,000. Part of the brand's Primavera collection, the mid-top silhouette merges a streamlined basketball shoe structure with the laceless convenience of a loafer.

Under creative director Demna, the house is attempting to balance technical performance with accessible luxury pricing. In defense of the move, Gucci stated that Italy remains its operational core, comparing the Chinese partnership to its use of specialised Swiss and Japanese vendors for watches and eyewear.

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The new product has triggered widespread discussions across social platforms, with engagement peaked at 7,578 interactions on 24 September, followed by additional spikes over the next 48 hours, showing that interest persisted beyond the initial news cycle, according to media intelligence firm CARMA. 

The US accounts for 60% of geographically identified conversation, followed by France at 18%, while China accounts for just 6%. This suggests the story is currently resonating more strongly in Western markets. 64% of sentiment is neutral, compared with 27% positive and 9% negative, indicating that Gucci's move is generating evaluation and debate rather than a widespread negative backlash. 

Key terms include China, Italy, manufacturing, luxury, high-end, consumers and price, highlighting the tension between Gucci's Italian heritage and China's evolving manufacturing capabilities. 

Redefining luxury value

Industry experts view the shift as evidence of a broader redefinition of luxury value. Jacopo Pesavento, CEO of Branding Records, noted that the old distinction framing "Made in Italy" as quality and "Made in China" as inferior is increasingly outdated.

"If a Chinese supplier has the best technical expertise for a sneaker, why should Gucci pretend otherwise? The real question is not where it is made. It is whether the product is good enough to justify being Gucci," he added.

Similarly, Vivien Jin, strategy director at Design Bridge & Partners Hong Kong, emphasised that while Italian craftsmanship remains central to Gucci’s identity, innovation sometimes demands specialised global expertise. "Being transparent about that choice is a positive step. The challenge is to show how it advances Gucci’s creative vision while preserving the heritage that makes the house distinctive."

However, the strategic risks remain substantial. Virginia Ngai, associate director at Prophet, pointed out that "Made in Italy" serves as the physical proof of quality that justifies luxury price premiums and distinguishes high-end fashion from mere expensive apparel.

When that label changes, it does not just shift a manufacturing address; it disrupts the core value proposition that the brand has spent over a century building.

Gucci's sales have dropped for 12 consecutive quarters, stores have closed, and new creative director Demna is under enormous pressure to rebuild relevance with a more price-sensitive, aspirational consumer base, she added.

"Sourcing from China for a technically complex sneaker makes commercial sense; China is genuinely world-class in athletic and performance footwear manufacturing. But the timing and the category are the problem. A sneaker is one of the highest-visibility, most scrutinised product categories in luxury today. It is the gateway product for aspirational consumers. Compromising the origin story on your most visible entry-level product, when consumer trust in the brand is already fragile, is a high-stakes gamble."

Will other luxury brands follow suit?

Pesavento believes the next era of luxury manufacturing will prioritise specialised expertise over geography. "We already accept Swiss expertise in watches and Japanese expertise in many technical categories. Fashion will eventually follow the same logic. And Chinese brands are making this even more interesting."

"Songmont, Laopu Gold and Pane are not hiding that they are Chinese. For some consumers, that is becoming part of their appeal. The shift is already happening: Made in China is slowly becoming less of a warning and more of a fact," he added.

The future is not Made in Italy versus Made in China. It is about who has the best expertise, who creates the best product, and who can give consumers a reason to care. The label tells you where it was made. The brand still has to tell you why it matters.

“Made in China” could become associated with the technical expertise behind a new generation of luxury products, said Jin. "Gucci’s responsibility is to ensure those products still express its own design language, quality standards and creative ambition. The manufacturing partner contributes a capability; the house must give that capability a distinctive meaning."

Jin sees this as opening a path for heritage houses to work with specialist manufacturers in China, particularly for products involving new technologies or complex construction.

"That could allow different forms of expertise to coexist within the same house: traditional craftsmanship rooted in its heritage, alongside technical innovation enabled by other partners. The brand’s DNA must remain clear and consistent across both."

According to Ngai, Gucci is currently navigating a comprehensive brand reset. "Demna's appointment signals a deliberate pivot toward a more streetwear-influenced, culturally provocative aesthetic, a significant departure from the maximalist, Alessandro Michele-era Gucci that many of its current customers fell in love with."

"The 'Made in China' controversy is a symptom of a much larger strategic tension: Gucci is simultaneously trying to retain its heritage luxury loyalists while chasing a younger, more price-sensitive, streetwear-informed consumer."

She added that if Gucci moves too far toward streetwear and aspirational accessibility, it risks eroding the rarefied brand distance that makes luxury consumers willing to pay a premium. If it moves too slowly, it loses relevance with the next generation of consumers entirely.

The brands that will win in this environment are those that define a clear, singular customer truth and build their entire ecosystem, product, experience, pricing, and provenance, around that truth. What Gucci’s truth is, remains to be seen.

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