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2 days ago

How dupes took over the world

Fake designer purses for sale in Manhattan on July 6, 2024. | Beata Zawrzel/NurPhoto via Getty Images When Deckers, the company behind fleece-lined UGG boots, recently took Quince to court over its lookalike boots, it tried to bar Quince from referencing “dupe culture” at trial. The bid failed, confirming that “dupes” and “dupe culture” — a commercial ecosystem built around providing consumers cheaper alternatives to name-brand products — are cultural phenomena here to stay. The trial focused on whether Quince’s shearling boots that really, really look like UGGs violated the existing...