Italy’s Luxury Manufacturing Is Grappling With A Nationwide Lockdown

“Made in Italy” is a sign of prestige for the global luxury companies that manufacture clothes, bags, and shoes in the country. Now the factories behind that work are contending with the spread of coronavirus through Italy. That includes a government-mandated lockdown to contain the disease, and falling work orders as global luxury sales suffer. On March 8 the government put 26 provinces in the country’s northern region under quarantine to halt the outbreak. That area alone is home to more than half the country’s textile and apparel factories, according to a research note by investment firm Bernstein that analyzed census data. But Italy has now taken the extraordinary step of putting the entire country—some 60 million people—under lockdown as it tries to halt the virus, which has claimed more lives in Italy than any other country outside China. Read more at Quartz.