Recently, Arezzo launched a new shoe collection that drew attention in the fashion world. Their products sparked reactions for presenting a visual very similar to Chanel’s new line, which had been featured just a month before.
The public felt shocked by the huge similarity between the pieces of both brands, splitting opinions about Arezzo’s authenticity in this launch. In a scenario of fast-paced trends and more accessible products, a fine line makes it increasingly difficult to distinguish between the definitions of plagiarism and accessibility in fashion. This leaves consumers wondering: to what extent can we go without crossing the limits of intellectual property?
arezzo’s strategy as a brand
Today’s consumers prioritize two main factors when they are shopping: if their pieces have the best quality, or, when that’s not possible, if they have the most accessible price. This new landscape forgets about a type of commerce, the middle market. When people focus on the extremes, original designs that fit the middle ground in fashion are often overlooked. According to data collected by EXAME, private-label brands grew by 44% in just two years, while discount-focused retailers achieved a 92% increase.
When the current consumer habits are analysed, research shows that mid-range companies start to look for strategies to set themselves apart, and this is how Arezzo’s new collection gets into the discussion. When a mid-market brand offers an item similar to a luxury product at a lower price, affordability may become a stronger factor in consumers’ decisions.
The “dupe” strategy, which closely aligns with Arezzo’s one, can revive brands that were struggling to remain in the market, whether due to low sales or controversies that attract media attention. The collection also brought significant visibility to Arezzo, something that mid-market brands rarely receive nowadays, by creating a design comparable to a Chanel design that had already gained popularity among consumers.
The cost of democratizing fashion
Amidst the slow disappearance of fashion’s middle market, creating items that fit well like a “dupe” of luxurious brands seems to help them within the fashion industry. But this does not prevent the controversial issues and plagiarism accusations from emerging with this type of footwear. Consumers started to compare Arezzo’s collection with Chanel’s one, and questions arose around the intellectual property of the Brazilian brand.
This happens because the accessible design is made for giving the public an alternative option to have a specific type of product, but with a lower price.
This strategy finds success between people that can not afford the original piece: a 2025 survey by Globo found that 28% of Brazilian consumers prioritize saving money, buying clothes mainly at discounted prices or from affordable stores. Besides being a good route for these shoppers, it still has a problem inside this idea, about its originality.
Developing a product based on the similarity to another can compromise a brand’s creativity. There is no unique design, no collection independently developed, and no distinctive style in its footwear. Middle market designers lose their importance to give space to a style that already exists in another collection. An inspiration for making some approaches affordable still can limit the creative identity and originality of the brand.
When does a dupe become plagiarism?
In all of this landscape, combined with the growing demand for immediacy today, fast fashion has taken hold in the fashion market. This type of commerce stimulates the rapid replication of trends, and it blurs the line between inspiration and plagiarism. There are slight differences among these terms, which makes them particularly difficult to distinguish, especially in the fashion law. Isabel Antón Juárez, an expert in fashion law, in an interview with Vogue, explains the complexity of the issue and the need to assess each case individually. She affirms that “We need to look at the two products in question—the copy and the original—to determine if it is legal from a trademark perspective or under the framework of unfair competition.”
She also highlights what is essential when determining whether counterfeiting has occurred: “(…) counterfeiting is illegal because it typically involves double identity—trying to make the product look as much like the original as possible, using the third party’s brand without permission on the fake product.” Given all of these boundaries, it is legally difficult to punish a brand for an intellectual property violation, since these details determine the legal consequences of each case. However, this does not mean that the negative impact on originality should be ignored simply to meet current consumer demands.
Finding a balance between innovation and accessibility is a real challenge for the fashion industry. There is no simple answer to where the line between a “dupe” and plagiarism should be drawn, and discussions continue over where the boundaries between them lie. Fashion consumers continue to value distinctive and creative styles, but we can not forget that the rise of fast fashion is increasingly changing the logic of the market.
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The article above was edited by Giulia El Houssami.
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