Replicas rant

[eunaddict]

I discovered this particular youtuber (Autumn Beckman - I'm not linking her channel -.-) a while back after she had a video on a fake bag tag and being all horrified that LV wouldn't heatstamp it. I think that video made her realize there was a market out there of viewers who would watch content on replicas (or as she calls them "dupes"). Anyway, her channel is basically a review of replica/fake bags and it's quite horrific and full of misinformation on the real designer goods.
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If you find videos on replicas etc., feel free to report and thumbs down the videos. Videos that get more thumbs down than up are less likely to get recommended to other people.

Honestly, I'd rather they focus on taking down all the obvious dog fighting & animal abuse videos.
But don't see that coming soon either.

^Me too! But Youtube has a report feature for animal abuse videos (none for copyright infringement), they SHOULD be taking them down...Also, you can absolutely care about both animal rights AND copyrights.

 

[B4GBuff]

Nice


Yes it’s a really beautiful bag it’s on my wish list along with the Cece. Both from Michael Kors. Either of them is my next bag.

I wasn't putting down MKs bags. Just pointing out what looks like the inspiration behind them. I like the cece... but it's very close to the design of the Givenchy GV3 that I have with the gold chain and leather shoulder strap combo along g with the same basic shape kind of.. not exactly the same but the basic inspiration seems to be. I really like the cece light pink colour though!

 

[Sa26]

I wasn't putting down MKs bags. Just pointing out what looks like the inspiration behind them. I like the cece... but it's very close to the design of the Givenchy GV3 that I have with the gold chain and leather shoulder strap combo along g with the same basic shape kind of.. not exactly the same but the basic inspiration seems to be. I really like the cece light pink colour though!

Well I do want both the Cece and the Manhattan hehe .

Didn’t know the Cece was similar to a Givenchy bag, I guess it’s one of the high end designers I’m not that familiarized. The only Givenchy I know is the Antigona and one with two zippers but not close

It’s one big bag with one zipper in front of the other but with a big space between them.

 

[anitsirk]

I’ve also discovered that reddit “replica” community and after scrolling through it... it’s honestly freaky how popular $300+ superfakes have gotten and how quickly these Chinese manufacturers churn out fakes of bags from new collections. Yet another reason that I’m scared to use the luxury resale handbag market. Those people buying fakes intentionally are ruining it for the rest of us. I’m sure the replicas look crap in real life but in some photos they don’t even look obviously fake. They even copy the inner labels, it’s pathetic and I blame Instagram ‘flex’ culture for making people go to these lengths to appear like they own designer stuff.

That said, I’m sure that the people who would buy replicas for hundreds of dollars instead of similarly priced contemporary designers must have a certain personality, and it’s probably obvious to their friends and colleagues that their bags are fake. Especially if they don’t have a lifestyle that matches all these luxury bags they’re supposedly buying. They’ll say that the bag is 1:1 quality and no one can tell it’s fake, but I doubt they can mold their conscience and personality to that of someone who buys what they can afford and doesn’t pretend to be someone they’re not

 

[fabuleux]

I guess it depends which dupe you buy like with replicas there are different qualities of dupes. It’s reading the description in Amazon of the dupe you are gonna get.

There are dupes with real leather and some which are not. Since I heard about them I’ve checked them out and I’ve seen some on 40-60 dollars which are with faux leather and they say it and some running in the 100 dollars and those are from real leather.

I’ve never bought a dupe, I prefer inspired by from contemporary brands than dupes but I don’t think dupes are wrong.

Dupes are still fakes. A brand name or a logo are not the only things that determine whether a bag is fake or not. A dupe steals the design of a bag, which is—in many countries—protected by intellectual property laws. Dupes are equally gross.

 

[IzzaGee]

I’ve also discovered that reddit “replica” community and after scrolling through it... it’s honestly freaky how popular $300+ superfakes have gotten and how quickly these Chinese manufacturers churn out fakes of bags from new collections. Yet another reason that I’m scared to use the luxury resale handbag market. Those people buying fakes intentionally are ruining it for the rest of us. I’m sure the replicas look crap in real life but in some photos they don’t even look obviously fake. They even copy the inner labels, it’s pathetic and I blame Instagram ‘flex’ culture for making people go to these lengths to appear like they own designer stuff.

That said, I’m sure that the people who would buy replicas for hundreds of dollars instead of similarly priced contemporary designers must have a certain personality, and it’s probably obvious to their friends and colleagues that their bags are fake. Especially if they don’t have a lifestyle that matches all these luxury bags they’re supposedly buying. They’ll say that the bag is 1:1 quality and no one can tell it’s fake, but I doubt they can mold their conscience and personality to that of someone who buys what they can afford and doesn’t pretend to be someone they’re not

What's ironic is here in Sydney (and probably the rest of the world) it's often see Chinese women donning the most beautiful luxury handbags. People literally raving about their counterfeit items, unknowingly helping businesses that afford other people to buy the real deal. Better to just buy contemporary or indie designers, go preloved or save up for a classic piece.

 

[IntheOcean]

Oh and speaking of dupes... the contemporary brands I consider dupes. They take the high end designs change them a teeny bit and slap their own logo. Example....

Michael Kors Manhattan
View attachment 4544867
Meets Proenza Schouler PS1
View attachment 4544868

Blatant!!!
But at least it's not an exact replica. But it's still stealing in my mind.

I think that at the very least, it was 'inspired' by the PS1. But yes, I agree, MK copied it and just tweaked it to make it edgier. The main reason why I never bought MK, even though some of his bags look nice.

 

[plue89]

Oh and speaking of dupes... the contemporary brands I consider dupes. They take the high end designs change them a teeny bit and slap their own logo. Example....

Michael Kors Manhattan
View attachment 4544867
Meets Proenza Schouler PS1
View attachment 4544868

Blatant!!!
But at least it's not an exact replica. But it's still stealing in my mind.

Lol is it bad if I prefer the inspired version? The MK one is so cute!

 

[delena]

I dont understand why youtube isnt taking down these videos

 

[westvillage]

Reading through the thread, I have some thoughts that I’ve been turning over for some time:

I don’t understand the difference among duplicate, “dupe,” replica and for that matter, reproduction. They all seem to mean the same thing except one may refer to using the logo of the original and passing it off as real. I get the words mixed up but seems they are simply fakes.

A wide swath of bag designers work with legit ‘inspired’ designs...RM, MK, plus all the designs with wings that showed up during that 3-or-so year era, followed by the mad two years of every designer having bucket bags. This is the way that industry works ... a la the cerulean blue rant. MK and RM get too close to the originals IMO but they can do it legally and the consumer can like it or not. We now have the original Coach Court design (I’ve had 4 of these so I know the design very well) which had to have inspired the Pouchette Métis ... just too close but definitely inspired not copied. Lots of changes. Personally, I’m very happy that LV resurrected this design and brought it to prominence because it’s a great one, IMO. Many contemporary bag houses now have a version of this top handle/shoulder bag with a flap, front and back pockets, maybe a turn lock. Kudos to Coach of decades passed.

High end designers do less “inspired” work ... the originality of their designs are regularly critiqued... but it’s still there, perhaps called, ahem, ‘trends’ when they do it.

Two bags that have looked to be really original and haven’t seemed to generate inspired designs are the Pandora ... so unusual when it came along ... and the PeekABoo feature on the Fendi bag (may be too expensive to knock off.)

Also the Bao Bao bag. I myself, who loathe fakes (and I’m very disappointed that Ms. Beckman has gone down the Amazon dupe rabbit hole; she was a sweet, vulnerable voice for a short while) have had to hold myself back from buying an inspired Bao Bao from nameless companies ( sold in stores, not on the street.). I’ve seen inspired colors, shapes and chains that I like better than Miyake’s but If I’m ever going to have this bag, I have to honor the originality of the design by buying it from Miyake.

Not sure these thoughts added much but thanks for listening

 

[BittyMonkey]

Not 'dupe' as it relates to bags, but I follow a YTer who does legging reviews and she is always referring to Amazon 'dupes'. I guess I have been interpreting dupe to mean getting as close to the original without the price and not pretending it's the original designer. Replica means fake designer. From some of these YTers/IGers it seems to be that dupes are deliberate look alikes at a lower price point, usually more in the 'inspired by' bucket because what makes them cheaper are fewer details. This one IG I hate follow loves her Valentino rockstud dupes but IMO they aren't dupes, they are replicas as they are 1) visibly fake and 2) exactly like the original.

That's what I feel like it means, anyway. But I have zero interest in dupes either so for me I don't see a reason to parse out the difference. It's obviously part of how people justify theft of intellectual property.

 

[mrsinsyder]

This video from an authenticator is scary. Basically, besides the packaging, she can’t tell the fake without using a microscope and computer program.