When dupes win, luxury loses its north star

The rise of dupe culture has become one of the most pressing challenges for luxury brands today. What was once considered taboo is now proudly celebrated on TikTok, Instagram, and e-commerce platforms. Videos promoting dupes reach millions of viewers, often portraying imitation as a clever lifestyle hack. Over the past 12 months, I had more discussions with my Pepperdine luxury MBA students about dupes than ever before. For the luxury industry, this shift is more than a nuisance. It is a direct threat to the essence of luxury itself. I recently attended IPx 2025 in Los Angeles, organized by MarqVision. It brought together legal experts, brand strategists, technology leaders, and executives from some of the world’s most influential companies. The conversations were sharp and timely, focusing on authenticity, anti-counterfeiting, and IP protection in a rapidly evolving landscape. Dupes were one of the topics discussed for its urgency. Their growing cultural acceptance is reshaping how consumers think about value, identity, and authenticity. The democratization myth: What influencers get wrong Dupes are often framed as harmless. Consumers on social media argue that they democratize access and make style more inclusive. Many influencers promote them openly, often without understanding the implications. Brands often see them as an evil they must somewhat accept. Yet, every time a dupe gains traction, the perception of brand value erodes. When consumers believe that a convincing imitation delivers the same experience as the original, the foundation of craftsmanship, scarcity, and cultural meaning starts to weaken. The truth is completely different. Luxury has never been about the product alone. It has always been about the story, the emotion, and the cultural signal that the product carries. Dupes do not just steal sales. Fundamentally, they distort and decrease desire. They blur the line between authentic and fake until clients begin to question what they are truly paying for. A handbag that commands $10,000 loses part of its aura if consumers see a similar version for a fraction of the price, say $200 or less, on social media. The most dangerous aspect is not the dupe itself, but what follows. High-quality copies, so-called super-fakes, create post-sale confusion. A buyer may unknowingly purchase a convincing fake through resale channels. At first, it may appear authentic, but over time stitching loosens, materials degrade, and finishes reveal their shortcomings. The consumer’s disappointment is then projected onto the original brand. Reputations built over decades can be undermined in months. When experts can’t tell the difference Super fakes push this problem further. These are imitations so sophisticated that even experienced experts struggle to tell the difference. They are sold for thousands of dollars and often infiltrate legitimate sales channels. If clients lose confidence in their ability to distinguish authenticity, they hesitate to pay premium prices. Once trust is broken, it is extremely difficult to restore. The cultural backdrop amplifies the challenge. On TikTok and Instagram, dupe culture is not hidden. It is celebrated. Influencers proudly label products as dupes of luxury items and build massive followings by presenting them as smart alternatives. This behavior normalizes imitation and frames it as legitimate. For a generation already skeptical of traditional institutions, this narrative has powerful appeal. Luxury cannot afford to respond slowly. The conversations at IPx 2025 made one thing clear. Brands need to act much earlier and more decisively. They need to identify threats, such as dupes, before these threats shape consumer perception. This means building automated and AI-enabled capabilities to detect, analyze, and neutralize infringements with the same speed that digital actors operate. AI-powered protection: The new frontline This is where technology plays a critical role. I was particularly impressed how a solution by MarqVision can scan marketplaces automatically, supported by AI, to identify infringements, dupes and fakes across platforms, and generate actionable intelligence and even removal action in real time. As the speed in which imitations are launched increases dramatically, automated IP protection becomes a necessary foundation that enables legal, marketing, and commercial teams to act with speed and precision. Without enforcement, brands are left exposed. A dramatic case study came from Mr. Beast, the most successful content creator. In today’s reality, even people are faced with “dupes” in the form of deep fakes, or imitated websites pretending to be the original but scamming people out of their money. In the case of Mr. Beast, 10 million views per day means 10 million daily attack vectors. When a website of a brand can be copied in 10 to 15 minutes with high precision it becomes evident that manual IP infringement actions don’t suffice anymore. And since AI is also used by the bad actors, brands need to step up their game. Reclaiming authority The rapidly increasing challenge of dupe culture, fakes, super-fakes, and deep-fakes should be a wake-up call. To make matters worse, too many brands have blurred their own positioning through excessive promotions, inconsistent pricing, supply chain scandals or uninspired collections. If a brand behaves like a mass label, consumers will treat it like one. Luxury brands must reclaim their authority, inspire confidence, and act with clarity. Luxury has always been about aspiration, transformation, and cultural significance. Dupes strip these away and leave only the surface. To protect their north star, brands must take decisive and timely action, supported by technology, strategy, and cultural leadership. This is an opinion piece by Daniel Langer, CEO of Équité, recognized as one of the “Global Top Five Luxury Key Opinion Leaders,” and advisor to some of the most iconic luxury brands in the world. He serves as an executive professor of luxury strategy and pricing at Pepperdine University in Malibu and as a professor of luxury at NYU, New York. Daniel has authored best-selling books on luxury management in English and Chinese, and is a respected global keynote speaker. Daniel conducts in-person masterclasses on various luxury topics across the world. As a luxury expert featured on Bloomberg TV, Forbes, The Economist, and others, Daniel holds an MBA and a Ph.D. in luxury management and has received education from Harvard Business School. Sign up for his online luxury masterclasses at the Jing Academy.

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When dupes win, luxury loses its north star