101 Stories on Counterfeit Goods

July 24, 2008 9:33 AM

CounterfeitChic.com's latest roundup of world news stories on knockoffs. Via.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero (11 comments total)

You thought we wouldn't notice.
posted by carsonb at 9:47 AM on July 24, 2008 [2 favorites]

Good lord almighty, Banksy is ridiculous. Pest control indeed.
posted by youarenothere at 10:31 AM on July 24, 2008

There was recently a legal case concerning handbags that were accused of infringing the "CC" logo of Channel. These bags had "OO," however, the stitching within the "OO" followed the "CC" outline, so one could buy the bag, and then snip out two sections, arriving at the "CC" logo. They lost because the bags were being snipped somewhere between customs and the wholesaler. (The importer claimed his unindicted son was doing the snipping without his knowledge.)
posted by StickyCarpet at 11:19 AM on July 24, 2008

Yeah...when Hermes puts out a birkin bag in the $75.00 instead of the $10,000 price range, and stops plastering logos all over their bags...that's about the time I'll stop buying unbranded copies of their bags.

Seriously, I love my fakin bag. It's the right size, I love the color, it's well organized inside...something the real birkin is not, and it was under a hundred dollars. Heaven. Now, if the counterfeiters can make a $75 bag, then while the hell can't Prada or Louis or any of the other insanely priced, whine about copies, design houses?

If the designers themselves would put out good bags at reasonable prices, people would buy them. But really...it's special kind of rich...or stupid...to put two numbers in front of a comma to have a season's worth of accessory.
posted by dejah420 at 12:06 PM on July 24, 2008 [1 favorite]

Fashion is about having something of high quality that most others cannot afford. So what you said there makes no sense. It defeats the purpose of their business if they start making cheap bags. And they would lose customers who pay for the quality and the exclusivity. My gf buys Loro Piana because of the quality and the lack of logos. People trust these brands because they deliver quality. If Loro Piana became purveyors of mass-produced crap, then someone else would just get all of their customers.
posted by Zambrano at 12:47 PM on July 24, 2008

Fashion is about having something of high quality that most others cannot afford.

Fixed. Since their target market is people who will buy a new whatever-it-is every season, why bother making something that will last longer?
posted by Faint of Butt at 12:53 PM on July 24, 2008 [3 favorites]

Fashion Elitism and vanity is are about having something of high quality that most others cannot afford.


Fashion is about wearing and possessing thing suitable to one's sensibilities, not separating yourself from those of lower quality than yourself with blind branded consumerism.
posted by cmoj at 1:04 PM on July 24, 2008 [2 favorites]

Fashion Elitism and vanity is are about having something of high quality that most others cannot afford.


Fashion is about wearing and possessing things suitable to one's sensibilities, not separating yourself from those of lower quality than yourself with blind branded consumerism.
posted by cmoj at 1:06 PM on July 24, 2008

If the "fake" bag is made in the same chinese factory by the same workers, is it really fake?
posted by Iax at 3:56 PM on July 24, 2008 [2 favorites]

Christ, I hate designer bags. A good bag, well made and fun, is fabulous. Bags designed by particular firms or, yes, designers -- like Cashin for Coach -- are wonderful, because their aesthetic is a signature. I have dozens of lovely, fun, high quality vintage bags, none of which are dated, because none are 'designer'.

But modern 'designer' bags aren't based on quality, or even on one clear vision, and classic brands get damaged when turned into 'designer' labels. The 'brand everything until it all looks the same' ethos has made Coach go from making simple classic designs out of beautiful, indestructible leather to making echoes of bad 80's LV out of cheesy 'signature fabric. But nothing falls out of fashion faster than an old designer bag.

Worse, these guys don't just want to go after the counterfeiters -- they want to go after the mass market retailers who make some thing that looks vaguely like their design. All bucket bags are counterfeits of Coach. All quilted bags with a chain strap are counterfeit Chanel.

By this logic, ANYTHING made by Top Shop, H & M or Club Monaco is a 'fake' and therefore verboten. You can buy fun stylish clothes if you're willing to spend 3,000 for something made for six bucks by chinese children. If you can't, then you wear -- what? Pajamas? Paper bags?

Bite me.
posted by jrochest at 12:33 AM on July 25, 2008 [1 favorite]

I feel more involved by news of water on Mars than by anything regarding Fashion, counterfeit or "real".
posted by Greg_Ace at 4:58 PM on July 25, 2008