Who needs the real thing? Tough economy drives luxury 'dupe' craze

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Who needs the real thing? Tough economy drives luxury 'dupe' craze

Published: 27 May. 2025, 17:46 Updated: 27 May. 2025, 19:29

Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

A passerby walks through an Hermès store in Seoul. [YONHAP]

Who needs the real thing when the look-alike is just as good?

On social media, posts celebrating clever, cost-effective purchases are gaining traction — not for flaunting genuine luxury goods, but for showcasing their affordable twins. This trend, known as “dupe” consumption, is rapidly taking over platforms like TikTok and Instagram, where users proudly share their latest budget-friendly finds.

In a February survey conducted by the polling agency Morning Consult, three out of 10 U.S. adults reported having purchased dupe products. Sixty-nine percent of respondents associated dupes with being “fashionable,” and 68 percent called them “trendy.”

Market research firm Mintel noted that in China — despite weak domestic demand — searches related to dupes tripled from 2022 to 2024.

“While dupes match luxury goods in functionality, they distinguish themselves as original brands,” said Lee Young-ae, a consumer science professor at Incheon National University. “This separates them from past counterfeits or knockoffs.”

This year, sales of luxury goods and dupes have diverged. Fast Retailing, the parent company of casual brand Uniqlo, announced a 19 percent year-over-year increase in net profit of 233.57 billion yen ($1.63 billion) from last October to this March. U.S. teen-favorite dupe cosmetics brand e.l.f. Cosmetics saw its October to December sales rise 31 percent year-over-year to $355.3 million.

The trend is evident in Korea as well. Daiso's collaboration with beauty brand Son & Park produced the 3,000 won “Arti Spread Color Balm,” dubbed the “budget Chanel lip balm,” and it sold out quickly.

Daiso’s total sales last year rose 14.7 percent to nearly 4 trillion won, with cosmetics sales soaring by 144 percent. Leading dupe-focused shopping mall Musinsa posted record first quarter revenue of 292.9 billion won this year, up about 12.6 percent from the same period of last year.

People line up in front of a Musinsa store in Seongsu-dong, eastern Seoul on May 1. [YOON SEUNG-JIN]

In contrast, luxury goods have seen sharp declines. According to Bloomberg and the Financial Times, Chanel’s revenue dropped 4.3 percent last year to $18.7 billion. It was the first time since the pandemic-hit year of 2020 that both operating profit, down 30 percent, and net profit, down 28 percent, declined simultaneously.

Burberry recently announced it will cut 1,700 jobs, or 20 percent of its work force. Its sales from April 2024 to March 2025 fell 17 percent, the lowest since 2014.

Consulting firm Bain & Company revised its luxury market outlook on Wednesday, downgrading its forecast from up to 4 percent growth to a 2 to 5 percent decline. Chanel Global CEO Leena Nair commented, “Macroeconomic and geopolitical volatility is placing strain on businesses.”

Sales in Asia, especially in China, have taken a notable hit. Bain & Company reported that China’s luxury market contracted by 18 to 20 percent last year.

“It has been unusual for both America and China to be struggling at a similar time,” said Burberry CEO Joshua Schulman. “The history of luxury is that China and America have acted as a hedge to each other.”

Earlier, fashion magazine Vogue predicted that dupes will become the mainstream of this year’s fashion and beauty market, attributing the rise to TikTok and Gen Z’s pragmatic consumption patterns.

“In tough economic times, consumption typically polarizes between luxury and ultrabudget goods,” said Lee. “But now that financial pressures have intensified, consumers lack the margin to engage in bandwagon luxury spending.”

Translated from the JoongAng Ilbo using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff.
BY PARK YU-MI [[email protected]]