Curious about how long Counterfeit Bags have been out there?

Grace123

Grace123

Hopelessly Obsessed
O.G.
Nov 12, 2006
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1,102
#1
How many years has this been going on? I don't remember hearing much about fakes/counterfeits until the past few years, but then maybe I haven't been paying attention.

So when did it really get going? Back in the 80's when every 12 year old had a Gucci bag, where some of them fake? Or some of the LV's back then?

Just curious, I guess.
 
#2
I think counterfeiting has been going on for a lot longer than most people imagine. At first, it was probably just the "big" names - Chanel, LV, Gucci. I remember about 10 years ago, looking at Chanel on ebay and discovering that many of the items were fake. I think as some designers gain popularity, their designs start being knocked-off.

When Marc Jacobs first made it "big" it was unlikely to find a fake bag on ebay, but about a year later, the fakes started popping up. The earlier fake MJ bags were pretty easy to spot, but now as you know, some of them are mirror-image replicas, which is so scary. Same thing with other popular designers. (Remember when Luella Bartley first came out w/ the Giselle? Within 6 mos, ebay was flooded w/fake Giselles!)

It seems that now, nearly every designer is knocked off at some level, which is why it is so important to know about the designers you're interested in, and not try to buy their things blindly.
 
#3
Counterfeiting in some form or another has been around forever. In fact, Louis Vuitton developed his famous monogram print in 1896 as a way to combat counterfeiting of his famous trunks! It's kind of ironic when you consider that LV monogram is probably the most counterfeited of all.
 
#4
I just want to know how the HELL people get away with it in the first place!! I've bought counterfeits without knowing any better, it was not on purpose! I know ton's of people who spend the money on a fake because it's a fake...no thanks! It just makes me mad...
 
#5
I'm not sure how long counterfeits have been around... but when I was in Korea a few years ago, they had TONS of fake LV & Gucci stuff for sale in legitimate shopping malls. I'm sure it's a million times worse in China, although I know they have been cracking down now on counterfeiters. I doubt they will ever be able to stop it completely...

I've heard that some of the counterfeits that are manufactured in China are made in the same factories as their legitimate counterparts... as in, shady workers steal the designs and run the factories after the work day is over (I think this is what happened with North Face products). So some counterfeits can be extremely well made.
 
#6
I remember in college...which will date me was in the mid-eighties when everything was designer some girls went to a certain place to buy fake LV. I remember it well because I was carrying a Dooney and they were the next thing people started to copy. I think it became popular in the 80's...just like alot of stuff.
 
#7
I remember people talking about fake gucci bags / watches back in the 80s in NYC. People who would visit some of the cities would bring the stuff back but it seemed less common.
I think that the internet really helped the industry, unfortunately.
 
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