“This is the best day of my life!” is what every bride wants to be able to say, dressed up in the perfect dress on her wedding day. However, such a scene could never be possible if the bride buys a counterfeit dress online. In fact, as soon as she receives the counterfeit gown, she is overwhelmed with disappointment.
The rise of counterfeit wedding dress manufacturing in the bridal industry affects not only real designers who have invested their time and talent into building a respected reputation in the fashion industry, but also the brides themselves. Providing information and bringing awareness to this counterfeit phenomenon is a responsible way to spare brides exasperation and frustration with their wedding gown.
The Internet: the best venue to meet counterfeit dress sellers
Counterfeit dressmakers find the Internet to be the perfect medium through which they can reach brides who are looking for less expensive dresses. Indeed, the counterfeiters make profit on the Internet with their ability to avoid USA laws regarding garment manufacturing and US Customs. They thrive on the web, where creating knockoffs is technically not against the law, but branding and identifying the knockoffs as originals with labels and tags is illegal.
Brides-to-be are the ultimate targets for the counterfeiters. They take advantage of brides who are very excited to find the dress of their dreams online for a vastly reduced price. The old adage rings true, “you get what you pay for.”
A fake good deal
As attractive as the price may be, counterfeit dresses, upon arrival, disappoint the bride and turn her sacred wedding dress fitting time into a nightmare.
In fact, most of these counterfeit dresses are not made of silk or other fine fabrics, which is why the perpetrators can market the gowns at unbelievable discounts. Sizing may not always be true, as designers have individual sizing charts for their dresses. Many brides, such as Rachel Ruffer, have been dismayed when they unpacked a cheaply-made imitation lacking the fine detailing of hand sewn beading, embroidery and lace.
Moreover, counterfeiters are developing strong strategies to encourage brides to buy their dresses. Counterfeiters often steal photos of designer gowns and claim they can reproduce the look of the dress. Counterfeit operations have loopholes to escape dissatisfied customers. They do not accept returns and give no address or contact information on their websites. That’s how the bride, who thinks she landed a deal, ends up spending more money to buy another dress.
Putting an end to copyists
Many key players of the bridal industry are rallying against the rise of the counterfeit market. Among them are the IBMA (International Bridal Manufacturing Association) and the UAMA (United Apparel Manufacturers Association). The IBMA and the UAMA are non-profit organizations created to solve significant industry concerns, including addressing the issues associated with counterfeit gown and accessory manufacturing. They are implementing global and centralized actions in counterfeit prevention for the designers, bloggers, and brides-to-be.
By ANGELICA PERMIAKOV, ESTELLE IUNG, MINA KIM