Why Do People Love Dupes?
It is clear that dupes have been taking the world by storm lately. ‘Dupe’ is short for ‘Duplicate’ and is a cheaper version of a more expensive product. Usually these products have similar ingredients, colors, or cuts but are from different brands and are at different price points. Every industry has dupes, but it has affected the beauty and fashion industry the most. Instagram and Tiktok have been full of influencers recommending dupes for various popular products, garments and accessories. The hashtag for Dupe has billions of views on both Instagram and Tiktok and has created a dupe culture on social media. Due to this increased growth of popularity, in 2023, dupes have become a current popular fashion trend, especially with Gen Z and younger generations.
Photo: Andrea Jankovic via: Oracle Fox
Dupes have always been around for many years. However, the attitude that consumers had about dupes was more negative. Now, the use of dupes is not only praised or celebrated but they are shown off to others. Dupe’s popularity is because they add access to trends to more consumers. By brands creating dupes of other brands, more consumers are able to gain access to trendy things that are pushed by social media or the public no matter what budget they have.
Photo: Andrea Jankovic via: Oracle Fox
The fact that dupes are more popular with younger generations is not surprising given that younger generations tend to have a lower income and a smaller budget. In addition to this, younger generations are more trend led than others, which leads to them buying things just because they are on trend, not because they actually need them. This makes them want to turn to cheaper brands that sell a trend rather than a better quality expensive brand selling the same thing so they can stay on top of trends without breaking the bank. Dupes appeal to the more trend savvy and cost conscious consumer and those consumers are on social media the most.
Photo: Andrea Jankovic via: Oracle Fox
Aiyana Ishmael, Teen Vogue writer and journalist said, “I definitely think Gen Z and younger audiences have really changed how knockoff and dupe culture is seen. Now it's become a really exciting and cool thing for a lot of Gen Z people to finally find — like, Oh, where can I find the dupe of this skirt that you're wearing that's actually $3,000 and I don’t want to spend that,” Ishmael said. “I think TikTok played a huge role in it. I feel like a lot of people notice that videos where you give people alternatives to different items does well on the app. And so people are figuring out, like, Oh, wait, this is a way for me to create content and you know, also help people.” Influencers have been banking on the trendy popularity of dupes but increasing their dupe videos and having sponsorships on branded products that are dupes. This allows them to gain more followers and make more of a profit by pushing this trend.
Photo: Andrea Jankovic via: Oracle Fox
The dupe trend and culture is only going to grow in popularity in recent years. Younger generations love buying into trends for a low price and the public perception of dupes has been changed into a more positive outlook. This is partly due to the constant push of dupes on Tiktok, Instagram and other social media sites. Dupes have been able to take over and impact both fashion and beauty industries especially. These impacts can be both positive and negative. Since dupes are blatant copies of other products or garments, it is important to think about how this trend can negatively affect the brands that are being copied and how it can impact these industries in the future.
