“Dupes”, these imitations of clothes or accessories, which panic the younger generation on social networks

It’s a fool’s market with over 6 billion views. TikTok has been on a massive treasure hunt for the past few months. In the field of view of users. products that look like high-end parts cost less. These duplicates, called “dupes”, are found in accessible stores by users who quickly share their tips on the platform. #cheated, #dupeaalert, #dupetalk… The phenomenon spawns a constellation of hashtags, each reaching tens of millions of views, or even just one of several billion. #cheat and #cheat. And the effect is felt even in the store.

That’s how in the middle of March, completely ordinary high-class Intimissimi suddenly panicked the twenty-one. Dubbed the “perfect dupe” for the Skims shirt, this affordable tee worn by American model Kendall Jenner during a podcast taping has gone viral. Overnight, the Italian brand saw customers arriving at its outlets in search of their holy grail, smartphone in hand and a TikTok screenshot to back it up.

Artistic uncertainty… and legal

In the spring of 2022, the first hashtag set the stage for this pairs and deals game. through #zaradupe TikTok users began to point out similarities between the collections of the Chinese brand Shein and the flagship brand of the Inditex group. A quest that highlights dozens of identical parts but 30% cheaper on Shane’s site. Behind the English term “dupe”, which translates as “copy”, some are tempted to look for the concept of deception, a case of plagiarism of two brands. It is not so. There is no question of accusing one of copying the other, pointing out price differences and pointing to the best rates. A similar part is sold at a lower price? It’s called customer favor. But for some brands, it is really an imitation.

Wouldn’t the “impostor” be an unnamed fake? Fashion lawyer Glynis Makundu explains the difference. “The classic counterfeit is to take a bag from a brand, reproduce it in the same way and try to pass it off as a bag of the specified brand, selling it for less. The “impostor” will only take some of the characteristics of the model without trying to copy it. Except that in some cases inspiration is more than supported. “Here we find ourselves in certain uncertain areas, continues the lawyer. When we are trying to assess counterfeiting, we will first look at the similarities between the products and if the overall impression they leave is indeed identical. It’s really on a case-by-case basis.”

Therefore, only a court order can make a decision. In May 2020, the Rains label thus won its case in a Danish court against Inditex, which was found guilty of copyright infringement on two parks. But this is far from always the case. On November 14, 2018, Isabelle Marant sued H&M before the tribunal de grande instance in Paris over a controversial space-embroidered jacket sold by the Swedish giant, which shares many details with the French label’s Eloise model. A trial in November last year found that the overall impression was not similar for the two works, and H&M was not found guilty of infringement. This is how affordable fashion brands regularly receive complaints but continue to operate in the gray area to please their customers.

#dupechallenge

Dyson hair dryers, Fenty lipsticks, Starbucks coffees… Visible products, all categories combined, thus appear at the bottom of searches for “cheats” on TikTok. The enthusiasm is such that getting them out becomes a challenge. Challenge #dupechallenge (71 million views) have to walk the aisles of stores to get the popular equivalent. Presenting each of their finds to the camera, the young heroes of these videos exclaim in triumph, uttering the word “dupe” in a cartoonish tone, while often bursting with laughter. Because, far from being an act of condemnation, the activity is purely playful. However, it highlights the disturbing number of pieces inspired by others on the shelves of some businesses.

“It’s called a fashion common fund,” explains fashion law expert Glynis Makundu. “Trends are available and available to everyone, no one can master them. Any designer can use them, which ultimately creates similarities across collections.” However, should we be concerned that these young consumers are falling for the fake song that is growing on social media? “In my opinion, people who look for scammers are fashion lovers who are well aware that they are not buying an original product. And in any case, do not intend to betray what they bought with something else. Story fashion more than a victim.