Now the Guardian can report from in the factory for the first time, and can confirm that tens of thousands of Louis Vuitton shoes leave their doors each week, finish in many details apart from the soles.When first contacting Somarest, the factory’s communications officer wrapped up in the mention of Louis Vuitton and didn’t respond to any further attempt to contact her. “We do not open the doors of our workshops due to internal policy,” the firm said.But Louis Vuitton hasn’t been in a position to stop clues regarding its Romanian operation from leaking on to the internet. A painstaking search through Romanian websites, including staff selfies on Facebook, finally led to the factory door.Once you pass safety and the cypress trees that stand sentry at the doorway to the Somarest factory in Cisnadie, a small town at the base of the Southern Carpathian mountains, Louis Vuitton is omnipresent. At the peak of the stairs is a glass case holding a pair of heritage leather boots embossed with the LV logo. They retail for $2,000. On the wall behind is a gallery of handbags on glass shelves.
