Lady Gaga Finds the Perfect Labubu For Her Hermès Bag

Lady Gaga has also caught the Labubu fever! 

And she has a special black and red Labubu, said to be modeled after Mother Monster herself, naturally. According to the fan account La Maison Gaga, the custom gothic-glam Labubu was designed by the Los Angeles-based artist Marko Monroe, and features the little creature in a DIY’d ruffled red outfit that is reminiscent of the one Gaga wears in the “Abracadabra” music video. 

Whether Gaga (left) commissioned the Labubu or it was gifted to her remains a mystery, but one thing is for sure: The resemblance is uncanny. (Well, as much as one can resemble a spooky looking creature).

Anyway, she was spotted out and about in Malibu in California, USA on Sunday with a custom Labubu adorning her sleek black Hermès Kelly bag, according to Vogue. 

Walmart’s Birkin Lookalike Takes Over the Internet

Walmart have disrupted the luxury fashion world with their viral "Wirkin" bag, a budget-friendly dupe of Hermès' iconic Birkin. 

 

Already, the lookalike has become a social media sensation, sparking debates between fashionistas celebrating its affordability and luxury purists decrying it as fast fashion sacrilege.

Walmart’s Birkin bag look-alike is nicknamed the “Wirkin”. As one TikTok user wrote “The Walmart Birkin bag is called a Wirkin and it’s for the Wirkin class”. 

The Birkin lookalike that has gained traction sells for as little as $78, depending on size and color. Kamugo, the maker of one Wirkin, say the purse is made with genuine cowhide leather but uses synthetic leather inside of the bag. 

Kamugo aren’t the only brand to take a shot at Birkin dupes – BESTSPR, YMTQ and Judy are a few other brands listed on Walmart’s site that sell similar totes.  

While Hermès' handcrafted Birkins cost thousands and require patience to acquire, Walmart’s accessible alternative has earned a cult following, despite being sold out online. 

As the debate rages on, one thing is certain: the “Wirkin” is giving high fashion a run for its money, one Walmart cart at a time.

 

Hermès ain’t the only brand having their products duplicated – Stanley water bottles, Skims bodysuits and Lululemon leggings are among pricey brands facing competition from affordable lookalikes. 

“Dupes”, which are less expensive alternatives to household name brands without tacking on fake logos (meaning the item isn’t considered counterfeit, despite marked similarities to pricier originals), have racked up more attention online in recent years. 

Steven Moy, chief client officer at luxury consultant G & Co., said dupes are inevitable. It’s reminiscent of how automakers Toyota and Honda received pushback for their luxury models, Lexus and Acura. 

Some consumers have waited years for a Birkin bag, he said. Moy added that wealthy consumers, who are loyal to luxury brands like Hermès, won’t stop shopping because of these duplicates. 

And some brands, like Lululemon, have hit back at dupes. The athleisure brand hosted a “dupe swap” in Los Angeles, USA, promising its black Align High Rise Pant 25” in exchange for a duplicate pair. 

Social media users have questioned whether buying a look-alike makes much sense, with one TikTok user saying “wouldn’t buy a fake one because I don’t even care to have a real one”. 

The dupe manufacturers often operate without much transparency, and many brands don’t have a clear store origin. Kamugo, for example, don’t appear to have a website. 

Moy says accessories like the Wirkin and fast-fashion companies make luxury accessible, especially for younger crowds who may eventually shop at luxury brands.

The Science of Veblen Goods

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nothing exposes human folly quite like our willingness to pay more for something simply because it costs more. 

 

These "Veblen goods", named after US economist Thorstein Veblen who first mapped this peculiar behavior, reveal how deeply status-seeking is wired into our psyche. People aren't just willing to pay premium prices for luxury cars (think Rolls-Royce) and designer handbags (think Hermès Birkin) – they actively desire these items more when prices surge.

 

Brands such as Aston Martin, Bugatti, Cartier and Dior are perceived to be worth more, simply because they cost more. They are not actually any better than their counterpart goods in their category. Their price alone makes them desirable. The most obvious paradox concerns function. Luxury goods are clearly not purchased to satisfy so-called primary needs. Their function is psychological – they promote a sense of being financially powerful and they serve as markers of a real or projected status in society. 

 

This mass delusion comes at a steep societal cost. Researcher B Curtis Eaton describes Veblen goods as "deadweight loss" – burning money on the altar of status competition. [Refer to his and Jesse A Matheson's treatise "Resource allocation, affluence and deadweight loss when relative consumption matters" published in Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Volume 91, July 2013, pages 159-178].

 

The science behind this self-deception is almost comical. A 2007 study by K Fliessbach, et al, "Social comparison affects reward-related brain activity in the human ventral striatum" published in Science found that when people compare their rewards to others, it directly affects activity in the brain's reward centers. 

 

The researchers conducted fMRI scans of pairs of subjects performing tasks for monetary rewards, and found that the ventral striatum – a key reward processing region – responded to relative payment differences, not just absolute rewards.

 

As already stated, the higher prices of Veblen goods make them desirable as a status symbol. Take the Rolex Daytona watch (right), which routinely sells above its already stratospheric list price. Buyers aren't purchasing a timepiece – they're buying membership in an imaginary club of supposed superiority. 

 

As Veblen himself wrote: "Conspicuous consumption of valuable goods is a means of reputability to the gentleman of leisure".

Hermès's Snobbery Knows No Bounds

Hermès, the epitome of luxury fashion, are facing a class-action lawsuit that expose their alleged dirty tactics to control who can buy their precious Birkin handbags. 

 

The French fashion house, worth a staggering $266 billion, have been accused of violating antitrust laws by allowing only "worthy" customers – i.e., those who have sufficiently lined Hermès's pockets – to get their pampered paws on a Birkin. 

 

The lawsuit, filed on Tusday in the US by two California residents, paints a picture of Hermès sales associates as the henchmen of this elitist scheme, strong-arming customers into buying overpriced trinkets just for a chance to be deemed "Birkin-worthy". The plaintiffs had their feelings hurt by being made to feel they weren't good enough to warrant a handbag unless they first dropped a small fortune on scarves and shoes. The lawsuit calls out this practice for what it is: illegal "tying" of one product to another.

 

Hermès's snobbery knows no bounds, reported The Guardian yesterday, as even the wealthiest customers are forced to jump through hoops and flash their purchase history to gain access to the hallowed Birkin, which can cost between $10,000 and $12,500 depending on the model.

 

It is claimed that consumers cannot even purchase a Birkin online from Hermès, and the leather bags, which are handcrafted, are not displayed for sale in the company’s retail stores. 

 

“Typically, only those consumers who are deemed worthy of purchasing a Birkin handbag will be shown a Birkin handbag [in a private room]”, the lawsuit alleged. 

 

Hermès sales associates do not earn commissions on Birkin bag sales and are instructed to use the handbags “as a way to coerce consumers to purchase ancillary products”, according to the complaint. 

 

The lawsuit said it was seeking class-action status for thousands of US consumers who bought Hermès goods or were asked to buy them in order to purchase a Birkin. Hermès operates about 43 stores in the US, including eight in California. 

 

The plaintiffs are seeking unspecified monetary damages and a court order barring Hermès’s allegedly anti-competitive practices.

Hermès Drip

An Italian influencer has gone viral for sharing a quaint video of herself hooked up to a “handbag drip”. 

 

“I need a new wish”, thirty-two-year old Giulia Nati (right) posted on Instagram last week as a caption to a video showing her lying in bed with an oxygen mask over her mouth and nose. 

 

A tube connects her arm to a reddish-pink Hermès handbag as if it were an IV drip. A beeping sound can be heard in the background – mimicking the vital signs monitor. 

 

Seven more pricey Hermès purses can be seen on her bedside table in the clip, which has drawn more than 17,600 likes on Instagram. But others thought Nati got carried away.  

“As a former oncology patient, this image doesn’t make me laugh”, commented actress and reality star Carolina Marconi (left), who was diagnosed with breast cancer. 

 

“On the contrary, I find it very sad. I would take you for a walk in these [hospital] wards to make you really understand the conditions these poor people are in”, she continued. “Then let’s see how you feel about publishing something like this”. 

 

“Hi, Carolina, you know that we can talk privately”, Nati responded. “And you know how much I respect you as a woman for your strength”. 

 

She added: “My mother-in-law’s experiencing the same illness every day, I’m experiencing it first-hand. But that’s beside the point. It was just a light-hearted video. That’s all! Sending you a hug”. 

 

“I’ve spent 8 months in the hospital recovering from severe burns. Despite that, I really enjoyed this video and adore the concept!” wrote YouTuber Týnuš Třešničková, who was badly burned when a flame stunt at celebrity chef Salt Bae’s Istanbul restaurant went horribly wrong in 2018. “People just lack sense of humor and take [the] Internet too seriously”. 

 

And another person exclaimed: “As the daughter of two cancer parents you are more terrible than funny!!”

 

Jam Press reported that Nati – who has two kids, including one named Hermes – defended the controversial post in an Instagram Story. 

 

“The video has received likes from 17,000 people”, she argued. “Below the video, there are 2,700 comments, including 2,000 insults”. 

 

She reasoned: “So, 17,000 plus 700 equals 17,700 people who approve of the video, as opposed to 2,000 who don’t”.

 

The Next Sustainable Fashion Material

Plant-based leathers have the potential to revolutionize the fashion industry. 

Now, MycoWorks, a California, US-based biotech company, have created a new eco-friendly, vegan leather derived from fungi. Currently marketed as a luxury fabric, it can be grown to order.

The leather turns mycelium – threads from the root structure of mushrooms – into a material that imitates the look and feel of animal-based leather, reports Jess Cartner-Morley for the Guardian. 

"It's the first time that a company is able to produce a vegetal product which is matching or even exceeding the quality and durability and aesthetics of a natural one. It's a super achievement", Patrick Thomas, former Hermés CEO and a MycoWorks board of directors’ member, said in a statement. 

While the material is mushroom-based, MycoWorks create their rigid, patented material using engineered mycelium cells. As the cells grow into 3-D structures, they become densely intertwined, eventually forming a tough material, dubbed Fine Mycelium, which has the strength, durability, and performance of traditional leather, according to the MycoWorks website. 

In fact, Fine Mycelium can be tanned and finished to look and feel like animal leather's unique grain. The result is the product MycoWorks call Reishi™️, a leather that is processed using chromium-free chemistry, a chemical found in tannery wastewater, reports Frances Solá-Santiago for Refinery29.

 

The vegan leather has already made a high fashion debut. In March 2021, luxury fashion brand Hermés debuted their Victoria bag, which featured MycoWork's Fine Mycelium material, reports Olivia Rosane for EcoWatch.

Other companies, including Adidas' with their Mylo-made Stan Smith shoes and Lululemon with their mushroom-based yoga products, have likewise jumped on the eco-friendly bandwagon, per Refinery29. 

Note that it differs from other types of vegan leather made with mushrooms. Most mushroom leather is made from a compressed solid foam that mycelium forms naturally, but without engineering, it lacks the same look and feel as other animal and synthetic leathers.

Fashion Adopts "Phygital" Format

Yesterday, I had blogged about Milan’s Men’s Fashion Week and the measured return of physical shows, of which only 3 of 47 offered 'live' events.

Starting this week Tuesday, France’s fashion houses are tip-toeing back on to the catwalk. But only six of the 72 brands that make up the official Paris fashion calendar are to present 'live' shows – and these include the two big names in the form of Dior and Hermès.

Ever since the coronavirus pandemic blighted the world, fashion shows have been plunged into the digital realm. 

Historically, fashion’s big events have been assigned to major cities in which models showed off the latest creations of top brand names to a ‘live’ audience. Now, they are being redefined for individuals who cannot be there in person. 

Indeed, necessity is not just the mother of invention – but of adaptation to new paradigms. 

And so, what has emerged is not just a fashion show on a screen but a new kind of experience that allows a designer and brand to engage directly with thousands and thousands more than can be packed into a ‘live’ show for a fraction of the cost. 

The precedent was set in March 2020 with the first purely digital fashion week that replaced the traditional kind in Shanghai, China. It was hailed as a great success both in terms of participation and revenue. 

And this format has now been adopted by all the key cities in Europe which organize fashion weeks – embracing the new opportunities enabled by digital transformation. The platform can host exclusive multimedia content from designers, creatives, artists and brand partners that enables collaboration and bringing together fashion, culture and technology. 

Matthew Drinkwater (left), who heads London College of Fashion’s Fashion Innovation Agency notes how digital can more accurately reflect the lack of set boundaries that defined fashion seasons in the past: “Seasonality has been disappearing for some time, and now more than ever, it's time for us to finally say goodbye to that and allow the creative expression from designers to sit within their timeframe or what feels right for their consumers or their audience – not to what the industry dictates it should be”. 

The outcome of this new virtual direction is what is referred to as a “phygital” format. That’s the term for a “high-tech format that blends cinematography, digital technology, and live models”. 

It’s not meant to be a 2-dimensional substitute for the ‘live’ show rendered on video, which Zegna artistic director Alessandro Sartori (right) dismissed as “a fake fashion show.” Instead, he aspires to a new paradigm that combines “real and digital”, which is why he likes the term “phygital”. 

For the viewer, it would be a superior experience: “You can watch it on your device and zoom in on details, accessories – whatever you want. You will see so much more of a garment than you do on a runway”. 

Faced with the necessity of translating fashion to a digital format, the industry marries the pomp and circumstance of a fashion show with the high-speed chill of the internet. At least, it tries to.

It should be a serious endeavor to produce a multimedia experience, rather than just a traditional multi-camera streaming set-up. Meaning, it should capture a ‘live’ creation that is being transmitted digitally. 

Still, I don’t believe the virtual format should replace the other. Methinks, digital and physical must live in tandem and one cannot be a shorthand for the other. 

I’ve seen life through screens: flat. Devoid of feelings, of warmth. Screens have no emotion, full-stop. 

On the other hand, 'live' events, whether fashion shows (or even public speaking events, for that matter) have immediacy. It's the experience we want and really, that makes it very special.

Is The Hermès Birkin A Good Investment?

By chance, today, I came across this Bola Sokunbi piece about Hermès Birkin bags and I’m going to share it here! If you have read my post yesterday about these sought-after bags, I suppose, in a way, this is a good accompaniment to it. 

It is claimed that the Hermès Birkin is a better investment than stocks or gold. Well here comes an opposing viewpoint! 

According to Time Magazine: "The Birkin bag outpaced both the S&P 500 and the price of gold in the last 35 years – a time period chosen to reflect the date when Birkin bags were first produced in 1981. They say that the annual return on a Birkin was 14.2%, compared to the S&P average of 8.7% a year and gold’s -1.5%". 

While the above information might be correct, in theory, the reality is that this handbag is really NOT a better financial investment. And below are 5 reasons why: 

1. You need to get your hands on a Birkin first and preferably more than one 

Yup. I'm sure you've heard how difficult it is to purchase one of these babies from Hermès. This is simply because they are just that hard to get a hold of (exclusivity, demand, supply, whatever, the mystery remains). Which means you have to wait, and wait and wait and wait. 

You also need to make friends. Specifically, Hermès sales associate friends. And you'll most likely need to spend a lot of money with them to impress them into calling you as soon as a Birkin is available for purchase. 

What about buying from resellers, if you're not the patient type? Sure, you can go the reseller route. However, the problem there is that the reseller markup can be anywhere from ~50% to 100%. 

Yes, you read that right, some resellers will sell you a brand new Birkin at 100% more than what is costs. Don't believe me? Just google "Reputable Hermès Birkin Resellers" or something along those lines and check out their prices. 

Between the additional spending, you might have to do at Hermès and the crazy reseller fees, you can kiss that 14.2% annual return goodbye. Plus you'll need at least a few of these handbags if you really foresee yourself retiring comfortably on your Birkin investment. 14.2% of let's say ~$12,000 for a basic Birkin will only be $185,000 after 30 years. Certainly not enough to retire on if retirement itself on average lasts 25 to 30 years. 

2. Not everyone can shell out $10k for a Birkin

We're still talking about just one Birkin bag here. Investing in a Birkin requires you to pay for your investment upfront. There's no contributing on a monthly basis for the next several years. There is no luxury of the power of compounding (you have to rely on the original purchase price to increase in value). And there is NEVER a sale where you will be able to get it for a cheaper price. 

3. Insuring your investment will cost you

That's because if you are going to spend this amount of money on a handbag as an investment, you sure as heck better insure that investment. God forbid your house burns down or it gets stolen. Then what? Personal article insurance can run you anywhere from hundreds to thousands of dollars a year depending on the value of what is being insured. 

4. You need to keep it pristine in order to maintain its value

Or in other words, in perfect, like-new condition especially if you want to sell it. This is because, in order to get the return on your investment, you actually need to sell it. Note that a well-used handbag is not going to get you the price of a brand new bag. 

5. Selling this investment can be challenging

First of all, there's the whole issue of authenticity. Sure you bought the bag at the Hermès store (or from a reputable reseller) but you can't sell it back to Hermès! 

Unless you are a professional handbag seller or consignor you are going to have to prove the authenticity of your Birkin bag which means you need to have kept all your paperwork intact and be able to vouch for the authenticity of your item. Some purchasers will even go as far as to ask for documentation from actual authenticators, which will, of course, cost you money. 

Secondly, you need to be careful about where, how, and to whom you sell to, in order, make sure you don't get scammed and you get your payment in full. 

Thirdly, as an individual reselling a handbag (aka a non-professional handbag seller), a lot of buyers and resellers will try to take advantage of that fact and try to low ball you or take ridiculous commission fees off the selling price. 

A reputable consignment service will charge you anywhere from 15% to 40% of the sales price of your Birkin. Sure, you avoid the stress of authentication but hey everyone wants to make a profit. Again, 14.2% which is not so realistic. 

Therefore, it’s best to consider a Birkin bag as a wardrobe investment, rather than a financial investment. By all means, own one – if it’s something you love and can afford.

The Vegetable Series by Hermès

The Hermès brand is famous for its oh-so elegant bags. 

And they're very, very pricey because they're handmade. It takes high-brow craftsmanship and attention to detail to make them. In a sense, you can say that the meticulous process of manufacturing these bags is an art.

Their Birkin bags are an investment piece, and can cost around $12,000 on the low-end and $200,000 on the high-end. 

But their new series looks very different, even bizarre. That's because these bags are made of real vegetables! 

Three types of bags are currently posted on the fashion brand’s official Instagram account, reinterpreting the iconic Birkin through creative arrangements of asparagus, cucumbers and cabbages.

“Enjoy the detour as classic Hermès bags inspire art good enough to eat”, read the caption on the post by artist Ben Denzer, who is responsible for the vegetable bags. 

And if you don’t like vegetables, there are also bags made from fruits like apples and bananas – although they didn’t make the final cut actually.

Would anybody be foolish enough to want to buy them, I wonder?