THE UNORIGINAL SCENE

Buying fake products might be seriously unethical. But, some youngsters seem to think it is cool



It is ok to wear fake brands these days

SHE walks into the college campus with panache. All eyes follow her. Cool and smart, the girl is showing off her Gucci watch, Chanel bag and Mango dress. What a babe, isn’t it? But wait. Is she sporting fakes? If you don’t wear imported stuff day in, day out, you just cannot know. “Unless you get into the minute details, differentiating the fake from the original is quite difficult,” says Nivedita Divgi. She recalls one such incident where her friends could not distinguish between her original Man U bag and the fake one her classmate was carrying. “I felt really stupid to have spent a bomb on the original. At the end of the day, no one cares,” she adds.



Because of a rigid monthly budget, many youngsters prefer to go for fakes which look like originals but cost ten times less. “I loved the D&G bag, but buying that meant spending all my pocket money. After a few days, I found a similar bag available at a local store. From the outside, it looked like a D&G and I bought it. It does not pinch the pocket much. Sometimes, I do not mind flaunting rip off’s,” tells Akansha Joshi. Doesn’t she feel shy and awkward carrying a fake? “Firstly, unless you are really b r a n d - c o n - scious, you can’t know if the bag is original or not. The fake ones available today are really close to the original one, lookwise that is,” adds Akansha.



Why spend a fortune when you can get the same look for less? That theory seems to motivate the purchasing decisions of many youngsters. But Devika differs, saying, “When I can’t afford the original, I save up and then buy. But I would never go for a fake.” Tell her about youngsters who flaunt duplicates, and she retorts, “One look at it and I can tell if it’s a fake. It just does not have the finish of the original.” You can recreate the look of the product, but the longevity and comfort of the originals cannot be matched. “I liked these fake Puma chappals being sold at a store and bought them. After a week, they looked worn out. When you buy an original, you not only pay for the brand name but the quality. It is simply unmatchable,” says Susheel Mishra. Talking about longevity, Simran Singh says, “I do not like to wear the same t-shirt or carry a bag for too long. Hence, spending on the original is not my cup of tea. I get bored really fast. So, I 'd rather buy five fake ones than one original.” Even when you fake, fake it right, says Tarun Makhija. “I do buy knock offs, but not from the roadside. Even if they are fakes, I make sure they are at least good enough to be a lookalike of the original,” he confesses.

Nitya feels that it’s okay to wear a copy, but only if the product doesn’t carry a brand name. After all, why fake it when you can wear good-looking ‘namel e s s ’ products in style?