> Aren't most brands these days made in China or south east Asia? (looking at you, fashion brands)
They are. And the highest, most expensive fashion brands are still made by underpaid Chinese workers in Italy or France, so they can stick a "Made in $country" logo on the final product.
As someone who has visited the factories of Brunello Cucinelli, Kiton, and Zenga -- that is patently untrue. I saw mostly skilled craftsmen doing handwork.
So either you are making this up or you definition of "highest" isn't quite on the mark.
"Sold to Gucci for €24 euros each (around $28.09) despite a retail rate of $1000, Aroldo Guidotti of the subcontractor, leather goods specialist Mondo Libero, was filmed discussing the cost saving strategy of replacing Italian workers with Chinese nationals, who are hired as part-time employees, and yet work more hours than those on a full-time contract."
A lot of dirty tricks are played by exploiting the rules of origin. You can mark something as "Made in Italy" if the last substantial transformation of the goods occurred there. Last substantial transformation is very poorly defined, so is open to creative interpretation. You can make 95% of a handbag in China or Bangladesh, do some final stitching in Italy and perfectly legally label it as "made in Italy".
The inverse manipulation is used by Pakistani manufacturers of surgical instruments. They buy stamped steel blanks from Germany, perform the labour-intensive grinding and sharpening in Pakistan, then label the instruments as "Made in Germany" by claiming that they did not undergo substantial transformation in Pakistan.
They are. And the highest, most expensive fashion brands are still made by underpaid Chinese workers in Italy or France, so they can stick a "Made in $country" logo on the final product.