Everyone is Fauxgaux-ing
Fast fashion takes its latest jab at The Row, and it’s more shameless than ever.
My favorite thing to do on a Saturday is go to 10-15 stores. I don’t discriminate on location, goods sold, or size. Last weekend it was a pharmacy in the Upper East Side (more on that soon), usually it’s home stores or vintage boutiques on my local mean LES streets, but this week, I took myself to Flatiron to make a return at Zara.
I want to gatekeep shopping in Flatiron because it’s immensely more enjoyable than anywhere else. But I don’t know how to gatekeep a neighborhood in the middle of the city, and I’m pretty sure you all know of it already. They have every store that SoHo has with 50% less shoppers. You can actually sift through the racks at H&M without touching somebody’s old Starbucks cup. What a luxury!
Speaking of H&M, I found myself inside because I had heard their fall collection is pretty good. I don’t typically shop at H&M, and can’t recall the last time I bought something from there, but as an investigative fashion journalist, I felt obligated to make an eye witness report.
I wasn’t more than 20 steps inside when something slapped me across the face. A polyester-coated polyurethane Margaux knockoff, right there in the center of the store.
This was not the first time I had encountered a Fauxgaux in the wild, and in fact, not the only time that day. I also made a stop at Reformation, which has perhaps produced the most esteemed replica and has been successfully selling them for almost a year now, merching it at the top of their ‘Best of Bags’ collection online and offering what they’re calling Patrizia in a variety of colors and materials. H&M’s was going for $60, while Ref’s goes for around $598 depending on which model you pick. You’re on the way to the real thing at that point, but I have felt them IRL, and the leather feels decent, genuine as far as my eyes and palms can tell.
The Row is no stranger to a dupe. At the price points they offer, it’s almost unavoidable. I’ve always been fascinated by how many people want to claim this look, however. It may be the cultural zeitgeist I exist in by living in New York City, or the influencers and people I choose to get inspiration from, but everyone around me wants to look like they walked out of one of their seasonal shows. I myself talk ad nauseam about my goal of being mistaken for an Olsen Twin, and about their spot on my Mount Rushmore of cool.
Two things can be true at once, and I still find it shocking how mainstream The Row has become despite it being so popular in my little corner of the world. Maybe people don’t even know what’s being knocked off, or that something is being knocked off at all, but just like the way it looks. I dove into this theory with friends who aren’t immersed in the fashion industry as my guinea pigs.
Friend A has a job where although it’s not in fashion, she has definitely encountered this bag before. When asked, she replied:
Friend A sums up The Row perfectly for me. It’s just a black work bag. It’s just a black flip flop. It’s just a sweater. But it’s not. It’s not to me and it’s not to so many others, but at the same time it is. Brands knock them off for more than just The Margaux, and I’m lead to believe it’s because they’re simply making good shit.
Friend B proves this point. She didn’t know where the silhouette was from, but she wants it. I would’ve love to work the checkout of H&M on that Saturday and asked every customer who bought the $60 Fauxgaux if they knew what it was, or simply needed a new black work bag.
All summer I was being served “The Row Sandal Dupe” TikTok’s, full of influencers hawking affiliate-linked Amazon options of the Jelly Slides, the Ginza Flip Flop, and the Suede Sandals. Some of them were so good I couldn’t identity any differences through the screen. H&M, Reformation, and the dozens of other Margaux replicas online don’t even bother to choose different colors or finishes. They’re shameless xerox copies of earthy dark tones, black pebble leather, and plush suede, down to the inch.
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A lot of people genuinely don’t understand buying luxury bags. Why would you buy a Margaux when you can travel to Europe at that price? And get one for $60 at the local H&M? I honestly see both sides. There are a lot of reasons to invest in the real deal. The craftsmanship is unparalleled, it’ll last for your entire life, and you’ve invested in something made by the best of the best. I would implore you to not fill the H&M more than halfway, as I would be paranoid the plastic seam lines would burst on the Union Square 6 platform on your way to work, but if you want to get the look for less, who am I to judge?
I don’t have expendable income for The Row. I own one pair of shoes that I bought second hand from The Real Real I’ve worn into the ground for almost three years now, and that’s about as far as I see myself going for now. I also think that if your bag is being knocked off, it’s time to find a cooler, more underground option. Coach’s Spring 2025 show debuted a quirkier cousin of Margaux, something more unique and far less obvious of a design that’s clearly still inspired by Mary Kate and Ashley called the Empire. It’s swiftly made the top of my Christmas list, and I love the idea of me bustling around town with my Empire, slamming it down on the pavement during an outdoor dinner or slinging it on the subway, making it my own version of the Beat Up Birkin™. The Empire 40 retails for $695, and is made with that juicy Coach leather that appreciates with time, so when it’s ready to pass down, it’ll only look better than when you got it.
I’d like to speak to the legal team over at The Row, but that would defeat the purpose of confidentiality. I just want to know—are they going after these knockoffs? The case for intellectual property seems pretty strong, but I have a BFA and not a JD. Do they ever go after any knockoffs? A quick Google search brought me to the Reddit community, who seems just as shocked as I am.
Every time I walk through a Target I’m taken back. They’re selling Fottega Feneta, Frada, and Fanel like it’s their job (which it is). I suppose it’s a sort of “let them have it” attitude. In fashion school, we were taught that counterfeit items don’t actually pose a threat to a brand’s business because that’s not their customer anyway.
I find this a little harder to believe now, in a world where Goyard won’t authenticate bags bought second hand because Canal Street dupes are getting so realistic. I do believe the fashion girlies will save their pennies to one day be able to walk into The Row’s new store on rue du Mont Thabor and go home with a new pair of boots or a bag. As Kim Kardashian once said:
Your blog is literally where I do most of my learning