That's not to say these bags aren't made with greater care and effort than earlier generations of fakes, and there's a reason for that. The con is no longer, 'how cheap can I make a knock-off? The RealReal, whose focus on authenticity is right there in the name, came under fire recently for listing items that were, reportedly, not authentic.
After the popular Instagram account Diet Prada called it out for listing a "Prada" dress with lots of evidence pointing to it actually being Tibi, people flooded the comments section with other accounts of The RealReal making what they believed to be authentication missteps.
In earlier generations of fakes, one could simply look at the color of a leather handle, the type of metal used for the hardware or the lining and know instantly that it was counterfeit. Now that you can find knockoffs made with the same, or nearly identical, materials, as the real thing, that process has to be much more complicated and nuanced.
The hardware bares branded marking, there are serial numbers which are often correct, and they regularly come with seemingly accurate literature, tags and packaging," says Wetzbarger. Tiny things such as the casting of a zipper pull, the shape and size of a screw head, or how a pocket is stitched and finished can be the clue we need to differentiate the product as counterfeit.
Rebag has developed a seven-pronged approach to examining its designer handbags, and even after those seven prongs, it has specific frameworks for individual brands, meaning there are elements it looks for that are only found in Hermes products; same with Chanel. And still, the company admits there is grey area. It's not only possible to mistake a fake bag for a real one, but now that authenticators have to be so vigilant, it's also very possible to mistake a real bag for a fake one.
There is always a discussion, says Gorra, about imperfections: "Are these manufacturing defects or are these proof this could be a counterfeit?
Determining whether there is enough reason to doubt an item's authenticity often comes down to a judgement call. Of course, that's a judgement call made by a trained expert. Barchiesi says the IACC is working with "a government agency" to build an app for consumers to protect them from buying counterfeit bags. It also works with major credit card and money transfer companies to shut down illegal sellers, as well as with retailers like Alibaba, in addition to spearheading initiatives and experiences to educate and warn shoppers.
In the gallery below, Rebag details the seven areas it makes sure to inspect. While proper authentication is probably best left to the experts, it could help you determine whether you might have unknowingly bought a fake, too. Never miss the latest fashion industry news.
Not a chance. The occasional flimsy Frauda copped from a sidewalk kiosk is one thing, but particularly perplexing is the caste of counterfeit shoppers who invest time, effort, and serious cash into high-end fakes. So, why go through all the trouble, the back-and-forth, the gamble just to get your hands on artificial luxury?
Material goods of any kind are, for a lot of people, the building blocks of our identities: As we chase after the ideal versions of ourselves, we seek out, gather, and display the symbols that represent that self and communicate it to the outside world.
Shopping can feel like a bridge between the way we want to be seen and the way other people see us. As we forever lust after that ideal vision of ourselves, we surround ourselves with symbols as a way of painstakingly engineering our own identities. Status symbols like flashy luxury designer goods are megaphones for trumpeting yourself to the world: explicit, conspicuous ways of signaling power, success, taste, and wealth.
Money, power, glory — funny how it feels like all of that can come tied up in one neat little Chanel-branded package. The counterfeits, she says, gave her the social currency she yearned for at the time: They were a shortcut to the upper class. Even if I managed to have a lot of extra money floating around, I could think of a million better ways to use it. When so much is hinging on the buy-in of others, that leaves a pretty gaping vulnerability: What if you get caught?
Buying and brazenly wearing fake designer goods takes a pretty calculated risk-benefit assessment on the part of the buyer: to determine that the chance of getting called out on a practice many see as taboo or tacky is still worth the long-run payoff.
Telegraphing your status and power to others is one thing, but convincing yourself of that power can be pretty intoxicating, too. Because the interaction with the seller is so intimate and because you've seen the factory QC photos, because you've chosen that one straight from the source, you feel as if you've done something to create the bag. The company needs to drive toward profitability, and adding additional authentication experts, even if they could find them, would the company in the wrong direction.
Even if The RealReal eliminated its entire marketing budget, it would reduce the loss by only about half. Covering the other half of the losses would be a big lift for a company the size of The RealReal, and adding authentication costs would stretch its time frame for ever reaching profitability. One possible solution for The RealReal to have the authenticity it needs and still be financially sustainable is partnering with brands.
It has started to do that in its marketing efforts, having recently announced a relationship with Burberry , which complements a previous relationship with fashion designer Stella McCartney. The best way for the authenticity issue to get resolved in the resale market is for the brands to get much more involved. So far, brands have not been encouraging about resale because they want to sell more new stuff and resale inhibits that. But over time, as consumers demand it and sustainability becomes an increasingly popular commercial proposition, brands will think about it again.
At this point, that change in attitude is only a trickle. Taylor Stitch has a sub-site called Restitch where it buys back its own product and resells it. Eileen Fisher will take back your product, refresh it and resell it at lower prices to consumers. Over time, the pressure on brands to address resale and authenticity will increase, and we will see more brands get more involved in the resale market.
And bigger brands are starting to notice. In a recent announcement, Madewell said it would team up with resale company ThredUp to offer used Madewell jeans in its stores. Even Best Buy is getting into resale, as this article explains. Ultimately, this problem can be fixed only if management commits to make it happen.
Management needs to acknowledge that long-term success is built on the credibility of the authentication, and having fakes continue to show up for sale works against that.
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