Knockoff luxury items no longer taboo as Gen Z shoppers embrace ‘superfake’ designer bags, shoes
- Gen Z shoppers wear fakes with pride and think it cool to buy dupes and knock-offs, opposed to previous generations that deemed them taboo
- Makers of ‘superfake’ luxury items are known to source leather from the same Italian suppliers as established fashion houses
There is a new type of knock-off that is making it even harder to ensure your Gucci handbag or Yeezy sneakers are authentic.
Designer brands have been combating knock-offs for decades, but a rising category of “superfakes” can trick the most experienced experts. Fabricators have become increasingly savvy at making a product look eerily similar to the real thing.
Here is how superfakes became so difficult to tell apart from the real thing.
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What is a superfake?
While knock-offs of designer clothing and accessories have been around for more than a century, they gained prominence in the 80s and 90s as logos became a status symbol on everything from Juicy Couture tracksuits to Tommy Hilfiger bucket hats.
Those who could not afford the designer price tags went to thriving street markets like Canal Street in New York City, where sellers hawk counterfeit handbags, wallets, and shoes. Most of these fakes were not fooling anyone. They may have had a Gucci or Chanel logo, but they were cheaply made and often had telltale signs of inauthenticity, like fake leather, inconsistent stitching, or low-quality hardware.
Knock-offs have a long history. Genuine and counterfeit Dior bags are displayed at the Counterfeit Museum in Paris in 2009. Superfakes have taken the practice to a new level.
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But superfakes are not your Canal Street knock-off. Chinese manufacturers have become increasingly skilled at replicating designer goods in such detail that even the most experienced authenticators can struggle to decipher a superfake.
According to a New York Times article, these manufacturers are known to source leather from some of the same Italian suppliers as the fashion houses and often buy the real designer handbags to study how they are made.
Social media and the pandemic’s e-commerce boom have bolstered the knock-off market. Gen Z consumers are increasingly interested in luxury products and are fuelling a movement that embraces knock-offs as subversive.
These young shoppers, born between 1997 and 2012, wear fakes with pride. They have decided that is cool to buy dupes and knock-offs, opposed to previous generations that deemed them taboo. TikTok puts Gen Z’s obsession on full display; there are thousands of videos on where to shop for dupes of handbags, cosmetics, and sneakers.
It is important to note that dupes and knock-offs are not the same. A dupe is simply a cheaper product that looks similar to a designer item, but does not infringe on a brand’s intellectual property or trademark.
However, any product that intentionally replicates a brand’s product, using its logo, name, or intellectual property is considered a knock-off. Selling counterfeits is illegal in the US and in some countries, such as France and Italy, it is illegal to wear them.
While they are cheaper than the real thing, superfakes are more expensive than an average knock-off. The price of a real Hermes Birkin bag starts at US$10,000, while a superfake can cost up to US$2,000.
Buying a superfake handbag also is not as easy as purchasing an average knock-off. According to a TikTok video by creator Charles Gross, you usually have to know someone who has bought a superfake to get a seller’s contact information.
There are also Reddit threads devoted to the best sellers. Typically, bags are made to order and the seller sends quality-control photos throughout the process.
In 2020, the fashion industry lost more than US$50 billion in potential sales because of counterfeit merchandise. Both designer brands and third-party marketplaces have invested millions in combating counterfeits, but the issue is so widespread that it is impossible to stop them all.
