The object I am choosing from the FIT museum is the Chanel bag. It has been taken from FIT’s Faking It: Originals, Copies and Counterfeits exhibition from 2014. There is a counterfeit Chanel bag from China juxtaposed with the original from France. While the original is navy blue in color and made out of real leather, the fake is black and made of plastic. I think the curators included this and other such examples of reals and counterfeits because fakes have taken over the market and have cost original brands and designers a lot. The counterfeit industry runs parallel to the original and has a huge market of customers. They cost the original designers in terms of brand value, because the brand becomes common as opposed to exclusive. The brand also loses customers who are cheated and buy fakes. More over, brands spend huge amounts of money in trademarking to protect their brand, which still seems to not be working. Hence, fakes are crucial to be aware of and were included in the exhibit. In terms of a museum setting, a close observation can be made by viewers to see, understand and compare for themselves the difference between a real and fake. As can be seen from the picture, the precise and professional stitching and making of the Chanel bag is imitated by a poor copy. Fakes have been around since, well, fashion has been. Chanel bags are a classic. They make the perfect example of items that are copied. I myself have commonly seen fake Chanel bags carried around the streets of New York. Chanel is the epitome of a brand that is constantly imitated and copied. It’s inclusion by the curators in a museum that traces other historical significances in fashion further underscores the damages fakes cause and we should be aware of it.
