Counterfeit goes cool: high-end brands urged to embrace rise of #dupe

In a bold marketing move, Lululemon in Los Angeles gave people who had bought a dupe of one of its products the chance to exchange them for the real thing. Photograph: Bloomberg/Getty Images

High-end brands should “lean in” and embrace the #dupe subculture that feeds off recommending duplicates or cheaper alternatives to luxury products, social media experts have advised.

Dupes, knockoffs and brand imitators are not new: the first wave of beauty YouTubers were highlighting cheaper products as far back as 2010. But in the past, buying imitation goods was mostly done with the aim of passing the item off as the real thing.