Why young people choose counterfeit fashion «Consumers will increasingly decide for themselves when it's worth paying for an authentic item»

Why do young people buy so much counterfeit fashion? According to the EUIPO, 26% of Europeans between the ages of 15 and 24 say they have knowingly purchased a counterfeit product in the past year, compared to around 5% of those over 65. It is a telling gap, and one we discussed with Julia Pueschel, Assistant Professor of Marketing and Director of the MSc in Luxury Marketing at NEOMA Business School, who has spent years studying consumption of both luxury fashion and the counterfeit market. «I would be cautious about interpreting this simply as a generational difference», the professor explained. Young people today have less purchasing power than in the past, «but they are exposed to luxury brands and their aesthetic from a very early age».

The crux of the matter, for the professor, is the gap between desire and possibility: «There is a considerable divide between what young people are encouraged to want and what they can realistically afford». Yet the picture is not straightforward. In research conducted with colleagues in the Gulf countries, the findings challenged the assumption that younger people are necessarily more drawn to counterfeits: «We cannot separate age from the cultural environment in which consumption takes place». The location of purchase is also shifting. New generations are growing up in a digital culture where counterfeits, replicas, dupes and second-hand luxury appear in the same conversations. «These categories are not equivalent», Pueschel clarifies, «but they increasingly coexist within the same online discourse». Even if «today's twenty-somethings may change their purchasing behaviour as they get older».

From hiding to flaunting

Once, the fake was a secret. Consumers wanted others to believe in the product's authenticity so they could enjoy the symbolic value of the brand without paying its price. Today, the researcher observes, «that is no longer necessarily the case»: on social media, people openly discuss how to buy replicas, compare their quality, and recommend sellers. Finding an alternative to an expensive product can become, in her words, «a form of expertise».

The meaning of the purchase is changing too. It is no longer about pretending to own something expensive, but about showing that one «knows the codes of fashion, recognises a desirable aesthetic and knows how to achieve it at a lower price». Within dedicated communities, a process of collective interpretation unfolds in which information is exchanged and choices are mutually validated. Behaviours that were once a source of embarrassment have become socially acceptable, but for Pueschel «this does not mean that all younger consumers approve of counterfeiting. Social norms depend enormously on the communities one belongs to». Indeed, it would be a mistake to conclude that «younger consumers have stopped valuing authenticity», says Pueschel. «Perhaps they are asking more actively what authenticity actually gives them».

For certain products, the original remains decisive: the craftsmanship, the maison's heritage, the materials, the purchasing experience and even the possibility of passing the object down through generations create a value that a copy cannot replicate. For others, however, the appeal lies in the aesthetic: «A silhouette, a colour or a recognisable design can become desirable because it circulates widely on social media. If the consumer is primarily interested in participating in that aesthetic, the original can become less essential».

The professor draws a distinction between the authenticity of the product and that of personal expression. Someone who builds a style by mixing vintage, genuine luxury, independent designers and affordable alternatives may find authenticity «in the way they put these elements together, rather than in the origin of each individual piece». This gives rise to a clear tension between a luxury world that derives its value from heritage and exclusivity and a fashion culture that celebrates individual interpretation and experimentation. «The original still matters», the professor concludes, «but consumers will increasingly decide for themselves when it is worth paying for an authentic item».

The issue is also semantic, given that «calling something a dupe makes the purchase seem clever and economical. Calling the same product a counterfeit immediately changes the moral interpretation». Not every dupe is a counterfeit and not every imitation is illegal, but softer terminology can serve to normalise products that are, in fact, counterfeit — not least because removing a logo does not make an imitation lawful if other protected rights are being infringed.

The problem in theory, the purchase in practice

In Pueschel's research, even affluent consumers acknowledged the risks associated with counterfeits — from quality to social judgement to moral concerns — and bought them anyway. The justifications are familiar: luxury brands already make enormous profits, the original costs too much, a single copy cannot hurt anyone, and besides, the original would never have been bought in the first place. In short, for consumers the immediate benefits are tangible: you get the product and you save money, while the negative consequences remain invisible.

More about perception than social status

The idea that fakes are bought only by those who cannot afford luxury is, for Pueschel, overly simplistic. In the Gulf countries study, within a relatively wealthy context, some consumers who could afford the original still chose the copy. Price matters, but so do the symbolic benefits of the brand, the pleasure of obtaining a desirable product, the perception of a good deal, and the social context — because luxury is tied to how we present ourselves to others and communicate our status.

Another interesting phenomenon is selective purchasing, which Pueschel finds particularly revealing. Consumers «do not necessarily question the idea of paying a high price. They ask themselves whether a particular product deserves that price». For an iconic bag, a piece of jewellery or something to keep for years, craftsmanship, quality and heritage matter, and the purchasing experience is part of the pleasure. But if the goal is to experiment with an aesthetic for a few months, she observes, «it may not make sense to invest thousands of euros in the original». Counterfeiting and its trade thus become a matter of perceived value — a central issue, given that the challenge is to make clear how, say, a sweatshirt or a pair of jeans costing €2,000 differs from their €200 copy.

The conversation to be had here cannot be moralistic or purely legal in nature. The existence of counterfeits is a symptom of a problem that concerns brands themselves. «If consumers consider it acceptable to buy a counterfeit, reminding them that it is illegal may not substantially change their attitudes», Pueschel continues. Luxury brands too must demonstrate why the original matters and understand that younger consumers do not necessarily accept brand narratives without questioning them. «The popularity of "dupe" products and replicas also tells us something about the way consumers value luxury today». The challenge, Pueschel concludes, is not simply to convince consumers that counterfeiting is wrong: it is «to convince them that the original offers something that is truly worth having».