Skip to main content
BoF Logo

Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.

Social Media Created Dupe Culture. Can It Also Reverse the Damage?

Marcelo Gaia, the owner and creative director of New York-based brand Mirror Palais, frequently publishes candid, casual videos to call out fast-fashion imitations.
Mirror Palais designer and owner Marcelo Gaia at a fitting.
Gaia is currently grappling with the question of how to combat knockoffs. (Mirror Palais)

NEW YORK

Please sign in to ensure you can read our agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice. Or get in touch at support@businessoffashion.com if you experience difficulties.

Further Reading

How Brands Are Taking On Quince

The dupe retailer has become a $4.5 billion powerhouse by promising lower prices and comparable quality to labels that fall between fast fashion and luxury. Competitors fighting back by stepping up their brand building chops are already seeing results.

A Death Blow for Dupe Culture, Deferred

President Trump’s ruling this week to end the de minimis tax loophole could be a bust for Shein and Temu, but a boon for all the mid-priced brands they’ve ripped off over the years.

Is Dupe Culture Out of Control?

The widespread availability and acceptance of dupes has cracked open access to products and trends for wider audiences. It’s also made doing business more complicated for many independent designers.

© 2026 The Business of Fashion. All rights reserved. For more information read our Terms & Conditions

More from Luxury
How rapid change is reshaping the tradition-soaked luxury sector in Europe and beyond.

What Happened at Coperni Owner Tomorrow Ltd.?

The London-based showroom-turned-brand incubator, which also owns Martine Rose, is being sold to Italy’s Andrea Ciccoli. Founder Stefano Martinetto breaks down the move for BoF in this week’s High Margin luxury newsletter.


view more
Latest News & Analysis
Unrivalled, world class journalism across fashion, luxury and beauty industries.

The Industry That Eats Its Young

Small fashion labels have always been shortchanged by their wholesale partners. A wave of high-profile bankruptcies has turned a structural injustice into an existential crisis. There is a better way to do business, writes Imran Amed.


The Zara-Fication of John Galliano

Fashion’s enfant terrible is trading exclusivity for the mass market. Is it the ultimate fashion coup, or the final surrender of prestige?


The Impact of War on Fashion’s Supply Chain

Textile hubs are already feeling the cascading risks of the conflict in Iran as Washington ramps up forced labour probes to revive tariffs, while decarbonisation in fashion’s factories might finally have a standard to go off of.


VIEW MORE
Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.
CONNECT WITH US ON