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Imitation is not flattery!

Original luxe apparel brands are all the more tough to identify from fakes

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In the world of luxury and masstige brands, there has been for long a tug-of-war between the top-class, high quality products that command a premium and their copycats. From handbags to cosmetics and footwear to accessories, the fakes and counterfeits have forever challenged the luxury goods segment, stealing the creativity and intellectual property of designers, besides billions of dollars in revenues. On the whole, fakes rake in as much as $461 billion globally, stated a report by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development.

The problem, however, seems even more profound in the fashion and apparel segment where copying is easy, but very tough to detect.

Fashion designer Raghavendra Rathore says the fashion industry globally is dealing with the menace of plagiarism. “Designers and creators of artwork have realised that this is not to get any better with the popularity of social media.”

Counterfeiting is stealing the greatest asset a designer has, “and that is creativity,” says Kamal Punwani, chief strategy officer and CFO, HRX and Exceed Entertainment.

According to Madhuri Bajaj, co-founder, Dua Vivo, a platform that connects buyers and sellers of pre-owned luxury brands, apparel is easy to replicate and difficult to authenticate. “This is because the raw material is often easy to source. Authentication is relatively easier when it concerns the international apparel brands since the products are standardized, while products from Indian brands are often custom made.”

Moreover, since several purchases (especially for apparel and fashion) happen through the unorganized and fragmented market, it gets easier for fakes to be sold, says Punwani. “The market is also not fully evolved in terms of consumers paying a premium for genuine branded products, fueling the demand for fakes.”

Brands admit to have often faced the problem of fakes. Vinutha Subramaniam, CEO & Director, Parisera, an online repository of luxury handwoven sarees, says the fakes they have encountered is from the powerloom sector. “We deal with handcrafted sarees. There is a micro industry that makes the sarees on powerloom and try and pass it off as handloom. This is painful as the entire weaving industry is severely threatened.”

Rathore says the brand has “often” been subjected to the issue of fakes. “As a celebrity brand that is available on e-commerce platforms, we have faced issues with fake versions of products being sold,” admits Punwani from HRX.

Designers are now strategizing to tackle the issue effectively. Rathore says they have engineered techniques and copyrighted some elements that cannot be easily plagiarized, “thus giving a tough challenge to the imitation industry. Clients often are the best informers of certain individuals who are practicing in this underbelly of the industry and we keep a good check on them. The breeches and bandhgala are therefore patented. Patenting the product won’t stop the market from counterfeiting it, but it atleast gives me the right to stop the piracy. As an individual, this is the least I can do for the industry by discouraging these malpractices and protecting our designs,” says Rathore.

Punwani says it is important to obtain intellectual property rights and provide for local injunctions. “We have a separate team that tracks this and undertakes action to protect the brand IP. Brands are now inserting unique serial numbers and using high tech labels that are hard to copy,” says Punwani.

But what are the ways in which consumers can identify the fakes before making a purchase? Bajaj states that every luxury brand has its own distinct traits. “Although it takes years of experience and a trained eye to point out the original from the fake; the material used, brand logo, font, colour toning are often key giveaways. Also, fakes come with packaging of shoddy quality. As a platform in the business of luxury brands, we put out lots of information to educate customers and are in regular touch with them while shipping the products,” adds Bajaj.

“The experience of buying something worth value is missing. There is cheapness of aesthetics,” says Rathore while cautioning consumers on parameters to distinguish fakes from the original. He says that often, individuals who (knowingly) buy fakes have a persona that can be picked up by others in a jiffy. “Such people like to experience the high life without spending to achieve the real value. Over time, others start associating such individuals as social climbers with shallow pockets,” says Rathore.

Industry experts state knowledge is crucial towards making the right ‘original’ buys. According to Subramaniam, brands are constantly creating content to enhance wisdom and awareness about the original products. “Reading up, staying aware will ensure fakes are not bought.”

DON’T FAKE IT

  • Fakes steal creativity, intellectual property of designers, besides billions in revenues
     
  • Luxury market has faced adverse impacts but designers are now strategising to tackle the issue effectively
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