Browse the fashion section of stores like Aldi, Lidl, and Primark, and it won’t be long before you come across the famous “dupes” that are all the rage on TikTok. Popular among Gen Z Internet users, these products are near “duplicates” of luxury items created by budget companies to attract young customers pursuing a certain social status. If they aren’t technically counterfeits, should brands worry about them? Find out the answer to that question and many others below!

When did they become trendy?
On a day like any other, a content creator called Vivian Tu was hanging out with one of her besties when she suddenly noticed something that caught her attention: her friend had a beautiful $50 faux leather bag that looked like a designer purse.

This realization blew Vivian’s mind so much that she had to share with his 2.5 million TikTok followers that they could easily get dupes of pricey designer goods for way less in stores like Amazon with the right searching method. And the rest is history!