LUXURY Dupes: a fine line between intellectual theft and the democratization of fashion
By Dalal Daher
What if you could get your own taste of luxury at a fraction of the price? Fashion enthusiasts whose finances do not equate to their clothing tastes have found a solution: dupes. Want a pair of the cult favorite Lululemon Align leggings, but not the $98 price tag? Just scroll through some of the thousands of videos on TikTok directing viewers to an Amazon knockoff, or “dupe.”
The fashion industry’s ongoing tension between desirable yet exclusive luxury fashion and affordable yet often banal fast-fashion is largely fueled by dupes, as many mass-market brands thrive on copying more expensive styles. With young consumers struggling with the rising cost of living, shoppers’ desire to buy clothes has come at the cost of cheapening creative designers’ hard work.
The pipeline of creative, desirable styles to dupes has become pretty standardized. Firstly, a celebrity or other public figure wears a memorable outfit, or a designer debuts an innovative new collection. Pictures or videos of this item hit social media, often by the designer or celebrity themselves. Then, the outfit goes viral, getting tons of social media buzz, generally for its flattering aesthetic, quality, or emblematic adherence to a pre-existing trend. Lastly, once a style has enough social media traction, it gets copied by fast fashion brands like Zara or Shein.
Among the most paradigmatic dupes is Mirror Palais’ “Fairy dress.” Mirror Palais, a New York-based brand founded in 2019 by Marcelo Gaia, is known for its blend of “Edwardian and Victorian fashion” with “the minimalism and clean lines of the ‘90s.” The brand went viral in 2021 when Gaia posted a TikTok video of the $695 beige rhinestone-embellished Fairy Dress glittering on a hanger. The post garnered over 717,000 likes, and the Internet’s love for the luxury dress bolstered not only Gaia’s brand, but inspired a wave of more affordable Fairy dress dupes. The search “Palais fairy dress dupe” has 2.1 million views on TikTok, showcasing brands with painfully similar styles, from Amazon’s $25 version to Australian brand Babyboo Fashion creating their own “Pixie Mini Dress- Gold Sparkle” for $83 as a blatant copy of Gaia’s design.
Mirror Palais isn’t the only brand whose innovative designs are being overtaken by dupes. Companies like Kim Kardashian’s Skims, known for its flattering shapewear and loungewear, as well as cult favorite Australian brand UGG, whose recently viral mini Platform boots have seen a sea of Amazon knockoffs.
Despite the prevalence of dupes, social media seems somewhat split on the topic of legitimacy in the fashion world. Comments on Tiktok videos promoting dupes range from supportive to critical, highlighting the divide in dupe perception. A video showing a $24 dupe of the Fairy dress with 12.3M views displayed camaraderie between users on the hunt for an affordable option with comments like “AHHH THANKS SO MUCH!! IVE BEEN LOOKING FOR A CHEAPER VERSION <3” and “Bought this so fast, thank you bestie.” However, the same video also garnered criticism and disapproval, with other users commenting on the “bad quality” and their empathy towards Gaia, who designed the dress.
Interestingly, this video didn’t necessarily condone dupes but advocated for them as a temporary necessity, with the video’s creator giving Gaia original credit for the dupe and mentioning that she would “love to actually buy his products one day.”
Beyond ethical concerns, dupes are also harmful to the planet. While Mirror Palais is expensive, it is eco-conscious, with a pre-order business model, and promotes fair wages. The same can’t be said for notorious copycat companies like Forever 21, whose charges of imitating brands like Puma go hand-in-hand with their extreme textile pollution, and Pretty Little Thing, whose variety of cheap styles come at the cost of poor labor conditions and idea theft from smaller designers. One company that exemplifies the relationship between dupes and the environment is Spanish fast-fashion giant Zara.
While Zara is known for providing relatively affordable, trendy items, much of its success comes from outright design theft. The brand has been accused of ripping off designs from independent designers as well as luxury fashion houses like Christian Louboutin and Celine. Zara is also extremely harmful to the planet, manufacturing over 450 million pieces annually, and has been accused of perpetuating poor labor conditions.
These allegations are common among fast-fashion brands that specialize in dupes. Ecological offenders, like fast-fashion brand Shein’s, success in peddling low-cost clothing is only rivaled by its accusations of copycat products from brands like Levis and Dr. Martens. The astronomical success of these companies (Shein was recently valued at $66 billion) is largely due to dupes, at the cost of ecological and creative ethics. Shein’s lightning fast production time- some of the 600,000 items listed on the site only take 3 days to make- releases as much harmful CO2 gas as 180 coal-based power plants. Furthermore, the brand is notorious for breaking labor laws, with workers subjected to 75-hour shifts in unsafe conditions for the measly salary of $20 a day.
Dupes are the rope in fashion’s tug-of-war between creative copyright and mass-manufactured, democratized fashion. With the price of essential and luxury goods continuing to rise, dupes become the gateway to bigger societal debates. Thanks to fast fashion, the greater public now has access to swoon-worthy styles that before many never could have accessed financially. As dupes show no sign of losing popularity (ironically, even dupe royalty Zara had to sue another company over using their designs), the meaning behind the fashion we consume is even more trivialized.
Dupes might be saving our bank account – but are they worth the ethical and ecological toll on the fashion industry?
The fashion industry’s ongoing tension between desirable yet exclusive luxury fashion and affordable yet often banal fast-fashion is largely fueled by dupes, as many mass-market brands thrive on copying more expensive styles. With young consumers struggling with the rising cost of living, shoppers’ desire to buy clothes has come at the cost of cheapening creative designers’ hard work.
The pipeline of creative, desirable styles to dupes has become pretty standardized. Firstly, a celebrity or other public figure wears a memorable outfit, or a designer debuts an innovative new collection. Pictures or videos of this item hit social media, often by the designer or celebrity themselves. Then, the outfit goes viral, getting tons of social media buzz, generally for its flattering aesthetic, quality, or emblematic adherence to a pre-existing trend. Lastly, once a style has enough social media traction, it gets copied by fast fashion brands like Zara or Shein.
Among the most paradigmatic dupes is Mirror Palais’ “Fairy dress.” Mirror Palais, a New York-based brand founded in 2019 by Marcelo Gaia, is known for its blend of “Edwardian and Victorian fashion” with “the minimalism and clean lines of the ‘90s.” The brand went viral in 2021 when Gaia posted a TikTok video of the $695 beige rhinestone-embellished Fairy Dress glittering on a hanger. The post garnered over 717,000 likes, and the Internet’s love for the luxury dress bolstered not only Gaia’s brand, but inspired a wave of more affordable Fairy dress dupes. The search “Palais fairy dress dupe” has 2.1 million views on TikTok, showcasing brands with painfully similar styles, from Amazon’s $25 version to Australian brand Babyboo Fashion creating their own “Pixie Mini Dress- Gold Sparkle” for $83 as a blatant copy of Gaia’s design.
Mirror Palais isn’t the only brand whose innovative designs are being overtaken by dupes. Companies like Kim Kardashian’s Skims, known for its flattering shapewear and loungewear, as well as cult favorite Australian brand UGG, whose recently viral mini Platform boots have seen a sea of Amazon knockoffs.
Despite the prevalence of dupes, social media seems somewhat split on the topic of legitimacy in the fashion world. Comments on Tiktok videos promoting dupes range from supportive to critical, highlighting the divide in dupe perception. A video showing a $24 dupe of the Fairy dress with 12.3M views displayed camaraderie between users on the hunt for an affordable option with comments like “AHHH THANKS SO MUCH!! IVE BEEN LOOKING FOR A CHEAPER VERSION <3” and “Bought this so fast, thank you bestie.” However, the same video also garnered criticism and disapproval, with other users commenting on the “bad quality” and their empathy towards Gaia, who designed the dress.
Interestingly, this video didn’t necessarily condone dupes but advocated for them as a temporary necessity, with the video’s creator giving Gaia original credit for the dupe and mentioning that she would “love to actually buy his products one day.”
Beyond ethical concerns, dupes are also harmful to the planet. While Mirror Palais is expensive, it is eco-conscious, with a pre-order business model, and promotes fair wages. The same can’t be said for notorious copycat companies like Forever 21, whose charges of imitating brands like Puma go hand-in-hand with their extreme textile pollution, and Pretty Little Thing, whose variety of cheap styles come at the cost of poor labor conditions and idea theft from smaller designers. One company that exemplifies the relationship between dupes and the environment is Spanish fast-fashion giant Zara.
While Zara is known for providing relatively affordable, trendy items, much of its success comes from outright design theft. The brand has been accused of ripping off designs from independent designers as well as luxury fashion houses like Christian Louboutin and Celine. Zara is also extremely harmful to the planet, manufacturing over 450 million pieces annually, and has been accused of perpetuating poor labor conditions.
These allegations are common among fast-fashion brands that specialize in dupes. Ecological offenders, like fast-fashion brand Shein’s, success in peddling low-cost clothing is only rivaled by its accusations of copycat products from brands like Levis and Dr. Martens. The astronomical success of these companies (Shein was recently valued at $66 billion) is largely due to dupes, at the cost of ecological and creative ethics. Shein’s lightning fast production time- some of the 600,000 items listed on the site only take 3 days to make- releases as much harmful CO2 gas as 180 coal-based power plants. Furthermore, the brand is notorious for breaking labor laws, with workers subjected to 75-hour shifts in unsafe conditions for the measly salary of $20 a day.
Dupes are the rope in fashion’s tug-of-war between creative copyright and mass-manufactured, democratized fashion. With the price of essential and luxury goods continuing to rise, dupes become the gateway to bigger societal debates. Thanks to fast fashion, the greater public now has access to swoon-worthy styles that before many never could have accessed financially. As dupes show no sign of losing popularity (ironically, even dupe royalty Zara had to sue another company over using their designs), the meaning behind the fashion we consume is even more trivialized.
Dupes might be saving our bank account – but are they worth the ethical and ecological toll on the fashion industry?