I’m sure you’ve all heard the stories behind counterfeit fashion pieces. From getting fake Nike sneakers off of DhGate, to walking around the streets of Chinatown in New York and witnessing the many counterfeit fashion vendors, the “fake” fashion industry may be larger than you think. I myself have dealt with, and had, my own counterfeit fashion pieces; though this is the case, I now realize why my purchasing of these garments wasn’t the best decision.
Imagine this: you’re a luxury fashion designer for Dior. You are hired for their handbag department, where you are only designing handbags for your career; though this is the case, you are satisfied. You spend weeks designing the latest and greatest handbag for Fall 2022. The top dogs absolutely love your design, and take it to the next steps. The design is safe, right? Probably not. Someone leaks the design to a factory that mass produces fake designer goods. Within the next couple of months, you see your design on the streets of Chinatown, being sold as a result of a design thief. How would you feel if you spent your career designing luxurious garments, only to see them being stolen?
Not only are these designs being stolen, but it is literally an illegal practice. Though the counterfeit fashion industry is abundant, that doesn’t mean that it’s legal; it’s just a huge industry that is hard to completely eradicate. I remember walking down the streets of Chinatown in New York City with my family; my family wanted to see what the counterfeit fashion market was like in that area. Small shops were back-to-back to one another, and many people stood outside with their magazines of counterfeit items they had in their buildings. My family approached one person and asked for a specific Dior bag; before my parents took the purse out of the plastic bag, the police showed up. Within the next couple of seconds, the seller sprinted from the scene, and left their Dior bag behind. This is very common when shopping for counterfeits; it is quite literally illegal for them to sell it.
Though it has the fake designer logo on it, doesn’t mean that it is made with the same materials. Many of the same materials that you find on a counterfeit good, will be found on a mass produced good; for example, the fabrics used to make your counterfeit Louis Vuitton handbag will most likely be used in a Shein bag of the same style. Just because the designer logo is slapped on the bag, doesn’t mean that it is made of the finest materials on the market; considering they are mass produced, why would they use amazing materials?
Since many of these counterfeit goods are made with mass produced fabrics, this market can further contribute to the issue of fast fashion, as well as the overarching issue of environmental instability from fashion in general. All produced fashion is harmful to the environment, but this is especially the case with fast fashion. Fast fashion is known to harm the planet the most, since it appeals to constantly-changing trends that die out within months. Because of this, mass-produced counterfeit goods contribute to this problem. Your fake Gucci belt was a trend over two years ago, so do you wear it at all now? Have you worn it in the past few months? If not, it was a part of the fast fashion movement.
You may argue “but if they weren’t mass produced, then I wouldn’t be able to afford it.” In most cases, you are probably correct (unless you’re secretly a millionaire who is looking to be frugal), but the true debate is “what is the real price of fashion?” You may say that you won’t pay more than $200 for a handbag, but that is why other levels of fashion exist. If you have a lower budget, there are many more options for you. Trust me, I would love to be able to spend thousands of dollars on luxury handbags, but instead, I’m spending thousands of dollars on my college education; it’s a trade off, right? People like me are the intended audience for counterfeit fashion, which makes their industry that much stronger.
The story behind counterfeit fashion is extensive, and doesn’t root back to a single source. Like any other luxury goods or industry, there will be brands and companies that try to decrease luxury sales by offering goods at much lower prices. The difference between a brand and the counterfeit fashion industry is that in most cases, alternative brands are not stealing from luxury brands; they may take inspiration (or try to steal designs, like Forever 21 did) from higher-end designers. Overall, the counterfeit fashion industry is not only harmful to people, but it is also harmful to the planet.