In an unexpected twist, advocates for luxury fashion found themselves agreeing with opponents of fast fashion over a shared cause: a knockoff designer bag sold at Walmart.
What's happening?
In a move that's sparked controversy, Walmart recently released a handbag created to mimic the designer Birkin bag from Hermès. The dupe is priced between $78 and $102 based on location; the original Birkin, which is handmade by French artisans, retails for $9,000 to over $100,000.
The knockoff bag was nicknamed the Walmart Birkin or Wirkin, quickly getting attention and enthusiasm from shoppers on TikTok, The Express Tribune reported. Some even jokingly referred to Walmart as Walmès after the bag began selling out.
Why is this so controversial?
People who criticized the dupe stated that it undermined the artistry of the original, diluting the brand value and potentially taking resources away from high-end artisans, the Tribune explained.
Other critics took a different angle. They argued that these dupes promote fast fashion, a known pollutive industry whose use of natural resources and generation of waste has long been of concern to environmental advocates.
Wirkin supporters, on the other hand, said that the dupe challenged wealth inequality. The Tribune shared a TikTok video from Abby Merida (@abby_merida_), who encouraged users to buy the bag as a means of resisting the unnecessarily high prices of luxury items. "No need to spend a mortgage on a bag," she said.
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But as one commenter pointed out: "Plastic leather is so bad for the environment and will break apart so quickly. I'm team '[buy] neither an Hermes Birkin nor a Walmart Birkin.'"
What are other bag options for price-conscious consumers?
Amid the debates over the value and virtue of buying luxury or fast fashion items, another solution emerged: Simply buy neither — or at least buy neither new.
"I stopped buying all bags new and only thrift them," one commenter shared. "It's insane the quality you can find at the price points."
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Cheaper clothes 🤑 Several others agreed. "Me over here with my brand new Kate Spade bag found at a Plato's Closet thrift store for a whole $30, thinking $56 for a dupe is laughable," another said.
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Indeed, buying clothes and accessories secondhand has become increasingly appealing to shoppers who care both about price and environmental impact. And with options from online platforms such as ThredUp to in-person thrift stores to local community exchanges including Facebook Marketplace and Buy Nothing, it's never been easier to find the perfect secondhand option.
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