Alright, I’ve seen enough and I can’t keep silent anymore. FAKES ARE NOT DUPES… I repeat ARE NOT DUPES. Ok, let’s be very real and upfront with you and while I’m not going to call out people by name, I’m SURE you guys have seen this happening, but I’m so tired of bloggers/youtubers/influencers PEDDLING (with affiliate links etc.) FAKES.
I’m very very very passionate about this, because:
1. it’s illegal for these people to be selling you a counterfeit
2. You are blatantly RIPPING off someones idea/designer. You’d likely be pissed if you ran a business and someone knocked your product off.
3. You aren’t supporting the people that put blood, sweat and tears into making that product a reality. Unlike with Zara or H&M products (which I strongly advise against purchasing for basic environmental reasons) luxury brands actually employe SKILLED crafts people, not just someone who can push buttons on a machine. I’m not knocking factory workers, but there is a small group of people around the world who still know how to work with leather and how to make beautiful products by hand.
You can say how the majority of the profits go to the designer etc. etc. it is the designers idea, but without the designer all those skilled crafts people, seamstresses, dress makers, pattern makers, cobblers, jewellers etc. would not have jobs.
4. If you complain about how outsourced labour took jobs away from your country and then buy products (fakes at that) made in these countries you need to check your priorities or at very least your moral compass.
5. You didn’t earn it. Here’s the real truth, if you see luxury goods as aspirational or a status symbol, then you need to earn it. The same way everyone else who owns luxury did. Or else, what’s the point? What is the point of flashing it around when it’s fake? People can tell and it makes you look fake. What’s the point of wearing something just for the logo if the logo is going to fall off at any moment?
6. It makes is look like there is an increased demand for the product and DRIVES UP THE PRICE. YUP. FAKES make luxury goods even more unattainable because it’s perceived as increased demand for the same amount of supply equating to a price hike. Do you ever wonder how Birkin’s increase in value and why they are such a good investment? It’s because Hermes is still producing such a limited supply and there is now such a HUGE demand for them (let’s be real, with waitlists of 5 plus years for some colours and styles you can put your name on that list and save) so prices keep going up and up and up.
So by buying a fake because right now you can’t afford the real thing, you inevitably screw yourself out of being able to afford the real thing in the future by contributing to the demand that causes price hikes. Do yourself (and everyone else a favour) and stop inflating the demand for the good.
If you see an influencer selling a fake or profiting off of a fake, you should consider whether you should keep supporting them or not. They have no moral qualms about counterfeiting, which to me at least brings their whole character into question. Just my opinion, but really really really consider how upset you’d be if someone copied your homework and went on to win a scholarship to university off of it.
xoxo Steph
