Sunday, October 19, 2008

I wear fake Gucci, Prada, Louis Vuitton, Armani, etc.



Q: What’s your opinion about wearing fake designer stuff? I was recently gifted with a really nice-looking, good quality designer raincoat, which my friend later confessed was a knockoff bought in Shanghai. I swear no one will know it is a fake except for me and the friend who got it for me. Should I wear it?

A: I won’t go into the ethics or economics of fake designer goods. You know all of the arguments for and against brand piracy, and this isn’t the place to have that discussion, although for the record I do think that Giorgio Armani deserves to make all the money he can from his designs. I’m sure that all al foregone revenue from the Armani knockoffs coming out of China and who the hell know where else would easily buy him another villa in Italy on top of the three he already has, which of course is so necessary in life and therefore an injustice to the great man.

But anyway, here’s the thing with knockoffs: No matter how well they’re made and no matter how many people you fool, what you’re doing is pretending to be someone that you’re not. If you can’t afford to buy $1,500 Prada raincoat, then running around wearing a fake one is just like lying. There’s plenty of lower-priced, good quality stuff that you can buy that declare in all honesty what your status is in life. And hey, if you’re working class then don’t pretend not to be. I’d rather see someone who’s proud of what he is than someone who pretends he’s something he’s not. That may be hard to understand in our shallow, materialistic, and pretentious culture, but if you understand it then you know what the essence of cool is.

Having said that, there are a few things you can do with that coat. You can wear it as is and pray that someone out there does not realize that it’s fake and make you the laughing stock of the social circle you so desperately want to climb you way into. Or you can tear off the tags and wear it as an unbranded jacket. Or you can simply return it to your friend and dare him to wear it in public.

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