I think back to the iconic episode of Sex and the City that one time Carrie Bradshaw got a knockoff bag, and my first thought is that the show designers really did a number on that one. They nailed it. I just remember being so taken aback by the quality of the knockoff bag – the stitching, the materials, everything – it looked indistinguishable from a real Prada bag! I’m shook to this day.
I was pretty young then, and it felt like a war of dueling beliefs. On one hand, I agreed with the remainder of the gang that Carrie was wrong to be walking around with a fake – Prada is as Prada does, so-to-speak. But on the other hand, it felt like these women were in over their heads. It was like, how can you expect someone to not be tempted by a bag that looks so darn good for a fraction of the price? It was a moral dilemma right there in that café, and I could feel it. It gave me goosebumps.
I was so proud of Carrie when she fessed up in the end and decided to do the right thing. Even if what the store owner said was true – that’s it’s not breaking the law– any respectable fashionista knows that a knockoff is a no-no. It’s a sign of disrespect to the designer, as well as yourself. Yish.
What’s crazy is that episode aired over two decades ago and the fashion industry has changed so much since then, yet that episode still resonates with me. I guess I could draw an analogy and say that episode was like a blank canvas for me, and as I grew up and my fashion sense matured, I added more of the finer strokes of the design. It was like a lesson that lives on, even all these years later.
That episode was such a blast from the past for me, but also an important reminder of how careful we should be when it comes to the things we buy. We owe it to ourselves to make sure what we’re putting on our bodies reflects the best of who we are. And Carrie’s experience with the fake bag was a real eye-opening moment for me and countless other fans.
The takeaway for me in all this is that just because something looks the part doesn’t mean it is the part. A fake designer item is still a fake, no matter how good it looks. We all want to save a buck but that doesn’t mean compromising on the quality and ethics of the brand we’re buying from. When it comes to designer fashion, you’ve gotta do your research and look for the real deal.
For the next part,I’ll tell you about the aftermath from the episode. For starters, it woke up the fashion industry- they realized that not only do they have to stay ahead of the trends, they have to stay ahead of the knockoffs. This meant that they had to tighten up their designs and make sure where their bags are made, the people making them are treated fairly. It was a great wake up call to the fashion designers.
Also after this episode, the focus shifted to the ‘real’ bag and what it stands for. Its where you get your designer bag from that matters, not just the look of it. There was a sudden realisation of the importance of authenticity and origin. It was no longer just about how the bag looked, it was about who makes it and how it’s made. This was an important and astute recognition for the discerning customer.
It also stirred up the secondary market, which encourages certified pre-owned designer bags. There is a greater awareness to buying second hand bags made to approved standards. The second-hand market has grown dramatically since then, and it was entirely down to this episode.
In addition, knock off manufacturers started to become more and more sophisticated in how they produced these bags. before the episode, we wouldn’t have been able recognise a difference. What manufacturers realising was, if you copy a design too well, you run into copyright issues. But post episode they begin to make more subtle changes to their bags to better avoid these problems.
Now with the availability of information on the internet, manufacturers are even more careful in their designs to avoid legal issues. They have realized just how difficult it is to fool people, and people are more aware of the difference between a knock off and an original.
The episode also led to a better grounding of understanding of reasonable pricing for bags. We now know that if the price point is too low, it’s probably a fake. Unless it’s certified, people tend to stay away. Here, we’ve started to pay closer attention to the price of the bag we’re buying rather than just the designs.
Also, since the episode, manufacturers became more mindful of their logos. Before the episode, it was like they didn’t care about registering their logos, obviously because they were worried about counterfeits. Now, they realize that consumers look for logos and other authentic features, and they want to ensure that the bags they produce are genuine.
Another effect is the increase of counterfeit sites getting caught. Many of these sites have been caught since the episode, and it sends a stern message to anyone who’s even thinking about trying to pass off knock offs as the real thing. We now know how dangerous it is to try sell knock offs, so people tend to stay away. It definitely doesn’t pay off to try and sell a fake!