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

NEW YORK — Mirror Palais designer Marcelo Gaia didn’t expect fast-fashion companies to take the name of his limited-edition pink silk Valentine’s Day set, “Baby I’m Yours,” quite so literally.

On TikTok Shop, a knockoff of the set — which was advertised using Mirror Palais’s own brand imagery — sold thousands of units for just $35 — a substantial leap from the 18 pairs of shorts and 35 tops that Mirror Palais sold for $395 and $595 respectively.

“I’m one of the world’s biggest fast-fashion designers,” Gaia said in a video posted to Instagram and TikTok last week responding to the situation. “And unfortunately, this is happening completely against my own will.”

It’s the sort of off-the-cuff callout of the fashion industry’s more nefarious practices — fast-fashion pedlars ripping off emerging brands’ designs and using their imagery to promote counterfeits — that Gaia has become known for on social media. The Queens-born designer and former stylist has taken a decidedly more intimate and vulnerable approach to platforms like Instagram and TikTok: He’s addressed “dupes” since 2021, but also shares polls asking customers to weigh in on upcoming designs, explanations of garment pricing and behind-the-scenes glimpses of fittings.

Gaia never explicitly set out to centre Mirror Palais’s social media strategy around candid, casual videos — but as consumers’ price sensitivity increases and trust in luxury brands slides, the content has resonated.

“I just was being myself, and it worked,” he said. “It’s like a win-win.”

Mirror Palais, which was christened after one of Gaia’s childhood screen names, has over a million followers across social media channels and has been worn by the likes of Dua Lipa, Bella Hadid and Ariana Grande. The brand has built up a steady base of loyal devotees, with over half of its sales purchased by returning customers. He said that posting more transparent content has convinced “countless” people to renounce fast fashion, and placed him at the forefront of conversations about consumers’ personal responsibility in fighting design theft. Even still, convincing shoppers of $20 polyester frocks to opt instead for a $625 Mirror Palais minidress is a tall order.

Gaia, however, argues that what he’s doing is not just a tactic for engaging customers, but for helping people understand the realities of what it takes to operate an independent brand today. This approach is all the more important as consumers increasingly chafe against rising prices, putting undue pressure on smaller high-end brands to justify their price tags.

“When someone sees [a heritage brand’s] logo, the whole world recognises it,” Gaia said. “But I’m not sitting in a position of enough comfort for me to fully write [dupes] off.”

How Young Luxury Brands Can Fight Dupe Culture

If imitation is indeed the sincerest form of flattery, then the dupes, Gaia said, are perversely affirming. But the vast proliferation of counterfeits creates market saturation of certain silhouettes and styles, which Gaia believes ultimately hurts small businesses.

“With fashion, we always move forward. If something feels a little bit too overexposed, then people feel less excited about it,” he explained. “They’re increasing my distribution without it really being my distribution.”

It’s not just the fast-fashion companies contributing to the problem: In last week’s post, Gaia cited several videos of TikTok creators wearing the knockoff set with purchase links, giving them a commission each time a viewer bought the featured item. Posting such content, he argues, makes the everyday shopper an unwitting accomplice in the system.

That’s part of why he feels it’s important to speak out: Gaia doesn’t believe most consumers realise what they’re doing when they buy a dupe — or are even aware they’re purchasing one at all. His goal in calling out these practices is not to “blame and shame,” he said, but rather to inform and educate. While he believes fast-fashion companies are irredeemable, he sees his videos as an opportunity to recruit consumers, most of whom ultimately don’t want “to contribute to unethical behaviour.”

“Some people will comment and say that this is so much bigger than you and so therefore there’s nothing you can do … and I don’t think that’s true,” he said. For Gaia, just one person growing more consumption-conscious from watching his videos is a win worth celebrating.

The designer is currently grappling with the question of how to combat knockoffs. He recommends that fellow emerging brands stay up to date with image copyright registration, though he admits companies often have very little legal recourse in international infringement conflicts. Moving forward, Gaia also plans to intentionally prioritise intellectual property protection when designing garments to make them inherently difficult to emulate — while silhouettes aren’t generally protected under copyright law, unique artistic elements such as patterns and graphics are.

He’ll also keep speaking out, even if the attention on his videos doesn’t directly translate to a sales bump. Though the comments under last week’s video are largely sympathetic, one with over three thousand likes begins, “As much as I love your brand, I can’t afford it,” while another with almost two thousand likes simply says, “The prices at Mirror Palais are CRAZY.”

Gaia anticipates such criticism: In another video posted last week, he explains why his A Knight’s Tale minidress costs $1,795, citing its material composition, intricate design, development time and general operating costs. Gaia designs his garments as a splurge to be worn during life’s special occasions — part of why he uses a limited distribution approach.

“I honestly feel sorry,” he said, “for [fast-fashion vendors] who will never get to experience the joy of creation that I get to experience.”