STANDING in a train carriage surrounded by strangers I noticed something that would unite two random people together, their fake bag. Knock offs, not to be confused with dupes, are on the rise. Despite social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram trying to sensor the knock off world, a quick search of “dupe” in either app will feed you users showing off their hauls of products that are fakes of the real thing.
This can be anything from trainers, to jewellery to bags. A dupe is an imitation of a product that isn’t claiming to be said product, think Primark's new £12 woven bag that is a nod to a £360 Dragon Diffusion tote that is hugely trendy this season. The two bags have wide differences but the Primark one is clearly made to look like the more expensive one.
A knock off would be the bag being exactly the same. Whilst TikTok are trying to crack down on the tips and hacks being shared on their platform there’s enormous amounts still circulating. TikTok say: “We are committed to ensuring that you enjoy content the right way.
“Unauthorised streaming of digital content and the promotion of counterfeit goods are not allowed on our platform and violate our policies and Community Guidelines.” But savvy social media users have bleeped out using certain words and phrases, and sometimes don’t name the sites they’re using to buy the counterfeit goods but heavily allude to them. For example, content creators will say ‘the yellow app’ which refers to DH Gate.
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