Original Mulberry
Version displayed in the department store
I guess all letters senders start by saying that they are big fans of your blog and I am proud to say that I am no exception. I used to ignore local chismis sites and concentrated more on the foreign showbiz sites until I accidentally encountered your blog site. I have been hooked to Fashion PULIS since May 2011.
When my cousin had a negative experience with a celebrity, I encouraged her to email you the incident. Her story eventually landed on your blog with the title Letter from a Reader: Queen of Deadma. We were vacationing in Hong Kong when her letter came out. We were so excited that we spent so much time re-reading the story and we forgot all about the shopping.
Anyway, I wanted to share a disturbing discovery I made while shopping in Makati last Sunday. I visited this department store because I wanted to look at the house ware section. When I was passed by the women's hand bag section, the 'What's New' display rack caught my attention. I was so surprised to find out that the department store carries Mulberry imitation itmes with every detail of the original style including the metallic emblem/logo.
Now this is my question. Is the department store aware of this? Is the one in charge of the consignment items aware that these bags are imitations? Even if this department store is known for its affordable items, this does not put them on the same level as the "tiangge" stalls that sell fake luxury handbags. In my opinion, this is a serious crime just like movie or music piracy?
Thank you for taking the time out to read and post my letter.
Kind regards,
FA
Yeah I agree those fake item shouldn't be in dep't stores. Kaya naman when I'm in Manila kahit yong mga original like guess jeans nagdodoubt tuloy ako kung original lalo na kung sa mall ko binili.Let Greenhills do thier business nalang wag naman sa department stores.
ReplyDeleteI think your perception of imitation is those merchandise trying to pass off as one brand (for example those bags that have the logo and brand name printed of designer brands). But these bags from this department store may not necessarily be that kind of imitation products.
ReplyDeleteI attended a fashion talk sponsored by my school (blue-blooded eagle) with Rajo Laurel and Amina Aranaz-Alunan as speakers. Part of Mr. Laurel's talk is the Fashion Cycle, wherein during Fashion Week the designer brands determine what trends will be for that year. After this showcase, the aesthetics will be followed by high street retails brands such as Zara, Topshop, etc. until it reaches those that caters to the masses (i.e. department store). By that time, new trends are already emerging from designer brands and the cycle follows. (haha missed a few steps but this is essentially the gist)
i think that's what happened in this bag situation. Note that the emblem is not totally copied and the strings that open the bag is a bit different from the Mulberry one. I think the department store just considered this design to be trendy and fashionable that's why they produced similar look-alikes. :)
But if you see that the bag does contain a logo or tag that indicates it is a Mulberry, then it is a cheap imitation bag. :)
P.S. I do not work in the dept store (I dont even know what it is haha!); I'm just an undergraduate student perusing the site before my exam. :))
I totally agree. If we're referring to the same department store "who has it all for you". I also went there last week and was surprised to see a Cath Kidston bag imitation also displayed on the What's New display.
ReplyDeleteAre you sure it's an imitation? I mean, Landmark sells authentic bags like that baka you've mistaken it as an imitation bag lang.
ReplyDeletei also wonder why? they also have agnes b. fake bags, i know they're not imitation or copying the originals but they put the name agnes b. on the bags
ReplyDeleteI notice that too: Mulberry Bayswater, Chanel and even Hermes Birkin are in their racks. Well, I guess it's bec. these bags are coveted by many women; unfortunately some can't afford it so they mass-produced "imitations". I don't like their bags anyway bec. of its quality; hence, expensive and authentic bags are really an investment though I'd rather buy from Celine, Charles&Keith or Nine West. =)
ReplyDeleteyan b ung mall n may Marka? :)
ReplyDelete- nymo21
Sana kasi "inspiration" na lang; parang plagiarism sa writing, pag hindi mo kinopya ng verbatim ok lang. So counterfeit tuloy talaga. The only difference is the bag's brand name and of course the quality *wink wink*
ReplyDeleteWala bang creative genius sa maka-masa kunong mall na ito? :)
Whoa, a knock off Mulberry bag! Sa Mart ba ng mga sapatos ito? Boooo!!!
ReplyDeleteAlmost all department stores carry imitation items or they even have items that are from 168 or Divisoria like accessories.
ReplyDeleteThis is not the onLy brand that this departMent store is carrying fakes of.. they also have fake longchamps, etc..
ReplyDeleteMedyo ignorante ata ang buyer nila, di kilala ang Mullberry LOL
ReplyDelete@K, do you even know how to spot a fake longchamp from an original. the department store you're telling are selling ORIGINAL longchamps in one area of their store. but there are styles of le pliage in their store but it doesnt say it's longchamp.
ReplyDeletei think that they are not doing anything illegal... may mga lawyers or consultants naman siguro sila na magsasabi if they are crossing the line.
ReplyDeleteI always pass by this department store on my way home from work. They said that the Coach and Longchamp bags theyve been displaying are genuine ones. Just not sure if they also have Mullberry.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately department stores really recreate some designs as a cheaper alternative. There is no strict rule(law) when copying a design or making it an inspiration. If nobody complains then it will not be a problem.
ReplyDeleteHi FP and all the readers of Fashion Pulis, I got an information that one department store in Makati is really selling products like in divisoria or from 168 mall because they have same suppliers. As you notice mas mura ng konti sa department store because they purchased all items in wholesale pero (sa totoo lang the product was just the same in DIVI)as you notice they included some imitation but they also sell original items you may notice their original item if they are specially displayed or attended by a sales personnel or assistant.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, only the owners of the original marks have a cause of action against IPR infringers. It goes without saying that only the mark owners who can tell whether or not it is genuine or fake.
ReplyDeleteThis dept store also sells overrun clothing items with the GAP brand. I saw some in the children's section. Halatang GAP pero tinanggal/binura yung tag. May GAP store pa naman sa mall na yun, I wonder if they are aware of this.
ReplyDeleteSi Mariano na naman ba yan? i used to work for a store in the Binondo area before and bumisita ang isang grupo ng mga magpaka-sosi na chinoys. hindi lang sila halata kasi simple lang sila manamit pero kung titingnan maigi yung brand ng mga damit nila - suking suki ng buwaya. isa sa kanila purchaser ng "they got it all for you" at magugulat ka kung bakit nagkaroon siya ng interes sa mga galing china na merchandise
ReplyDeleteooops, FP baka magkamali ka na naman sa pag edit ha
they got it all for you....so, even fake meron din sila. hahaha. oh well, i guess...they are very much aware of this but they dont take any actions. besides...siguro naman...namomonitor nila kung ano ung mga tinitinda nila.
ReplyDeleteFrom what I know, there's this one department store in Makati with a connecting bridge to this high end mall, that sells branded bags. I've been wondering if those bags are real. I'm a constant shopper of their competitor and usually find very fashionable pieces at reasonable prices. For as long as their items dont contain the real branded "brands", i really dont mind. what i think is not appropriate and government should start policing are those in 168 and greenhills, yun ang super imitation talaga. i think department stores in general (which i agree with the atenean) are getting inspirations from international brands. They can't be trendsetters. They must have been doing their homework and thorough research of todays trends to provde their customers a taste of the latest fashion trends at reasonable prices. As a shopper, Im pleased
ReplyDeleteI work for a company that distributes an upscale US brand of apparel (known for the golf shirts) and I handle brand management.
ReplyDeleteAbout a year ago, some of my staff found out and reported to me that this dept.store in Makati (I'm not sure if we're talking abt the same one) is selling counterfeit shirts of our brand --- with the branding, swing labels and all. I had to see for myself and had one bought that very same day (costs Php495 with them but ours costs Php3950 for a basic polo).
Material, logo details and fabric obviously showed it was a ripoff, but I'm guessing only our brand's local patrons and people who know the real thing could spot the difference.
It's actually illegal and the licensed distributor could file charges against the dept.store --- that's what we did. Well, we demanded they pullout the counterfeit from their selling area and forwarded the case to our principal in the US.
The dept.store immediately did as we requested naman and issued an apology blah blah. But if it happens again the brand could easily sue them na agad and wala silang panalo. But still, ang hassle sa part ko ha coz I have to make bantay that they will never ever sell ripoffs of our brand. Not that they're capable of stealing our customers away (like I said, our patrons can spot the difference) but more of they're taking away the brand's premium lang. HASSLE!
laki ng problema mo teh..
Deleteay truelaloo. kung shunga shunga yung bibili niyan baka akalain niyang tunay kasi sa dept store nabili
ReplyDeleteObviously this person does not understand fashion trend or what is uso. This is not imitation. Imitation is when you copy everything and pass it off as the original.
ReplyDeleteLook at the denim pants. How many style or design do you think can you make for pants, let alone using denim as fabric? Do you mean to say that, for example Lee sold a a pair of pants using buttons, they are imitating Levi's 501?
Anything fake and using tje brand name should NOT be allowed to be sold in a department store. Uso or not. If they are using the name of the brand... Its like dvd piracy. Have some dignity naman...
ReplyDeleteSa tingin ko naman, they're not claiming that these are the real deal. What they sell are inpired lang by these expensive bags. It's not just that mall that sells it. A lot of stores actually sell rip-offs. Even Topshop, Zara, etc. do this. Have you really tried looking at these items closely?
ReplyDeleteYes, maybe they don't claim that the bag they are selling is the real Mulberry. But the thing is, they made a plate with a very very similar logo of Mulberry, siguro tinanggalan lang ng ilang dahon.
ReplyDeleteIf they are truly just inspired by the style, they could've used a different image. But by using that, they're not selling the style anymore; they're selling the premium or prestige that comes with carrying a bag with a Mulberry logo. Hence, it's tantamount to selling a fake even without the Mulberry label.
It is a totally different case with jeans and other items, because copying the style doesn't really mean imitating it. For example may time na nauso ang Mango na tank top n T-shirts. Kung plain tank top and T-shirt lang yun ok lang, pero kung nilagyan na ng MNG (yung logo) na print edi fake na yun kahit pa ang label/etiketa sa batok ng damit e ibang pangalan. You're buying the tank top because of the prestige that comes with owning a Mango top. Hence, you're buying a fake.
Siguro yung mga nagcocomment na hindi naman fake yung bag are the ones who are patronizing fake items.
I really think that the item is fake. Buti sana kung puno ng niyog yung nasa plate ano. I think parehas talaga yung puno sa plate, naiba lang ng anggulo kasi yung isa.
ReplyDeleteIsa pang fake store sa mga malls are ang PRP. Puro divisoria fake ang paninda nila. Pati jeans nila, galing divisoria tapos ni retag lang nila.
chaka aware naman ang mall management nila about sa mga ripoffs na they're selling. ang mindset lang nila --- hanggat makakalusot. so it's really upto the licensed distributors of the original brands to do something about it.
ReplyDeletehindi basta trend lang ang ginagaya kung pati brand name or brand logo na ang nakalagay sa item! anu ba.
As a buyer of branded items I definitely agree on most of the sentiments here about selling replicas which may not have the same tag or brand name. It's really the prestige and the status that comes along with carrying these items even if they are not tagged or labelled with the manufacturing brand name - a lot of people who cannot spot a real one would actually think the item is genuine. Pero I have a question to all the FP readers: don't you think we're just over reacting because the mall we're talking about is known for it's notorious practices? Think about this, marami din naman local "legit" brands ang kumokopya ng structure ng bags from other famous brands - lalo na ang birkin at speedy. Pero a lot of people still patronize them because these products look like their counterparts - boils down to prestige and status parin. It's still us buyers who are to blame at the end of the day because we patronize these products. Huwag tayong masyadong magmalinis dahil at some point, minsan bumili din tayo ng fake sa tiangge dahil hindi naman lahat tayo ay kayang bumili ng original item regardless if it's a bag, clothing or what have you. Yung iba, nakakabili nga credit card naman - utang lang, deferred pa payment. Bato bato sa langit ang tamaan ay huwag magagalit. Im just looking at both sides here.
ReplyDeleteWith all that being said, my stand in this issue is to keep the labelled knockoffs and obvious replicas sa tiangge. Malls shouldn't even be carrying these items.
I posted twitpics of similar bags from the same mall!
ReplyDeleteCome on, guys, this is obviously not just "inspired by", it's a total knockoff! Sure, they may not have copied the logo perfectly, but they still tried to copy it. And, just a clarification, Mulberry is NOT sold in this mall. Only Rustan's carries Mulberry in the Philippines.
And the difference between this and what is sold in Zara, Topshop, H&M is that they copied every detail, not to mention the logo (even if the logo is a bad copy). Also, the difference is that H&M, etc. sell their items as H&M, under their own brand, no one in the store buying will think they're buying Valentino or Prada. And that's not the case here, because as you can see, some of the commenters actually wondered if that was a real Mulberry bag being sold.
finally, an item doesn't have to bear the brand name of what they're copying to qualify as a knockoff. Something bearing the Goyard chevron print, even without "Goyard" spelled out is still a knockoff to me. If you're trying to pass something off as something else, then that's a copy/fake. PERIOD.
I agree with anonymous July 28, 2011 8:30 AM.
ReplyDeleteI think we're just over reacting because "The Mall" is the topic once again. Another good example is Korean Goods (esp bags) that are sold online - a lot of them look like their branded counterparts. A common item I see online is a replica of the Chanel Bags. But, we know it's not a Chanel and it's not carrying the logo - however it's still the same thought: patronizing the product is like buying a knockoff, regardless if it's labelled/tagged or not. Again it boils down to the prestige and status of carrying a "look-alike"
fyi, in HK and China imitations and originals are sometimes displayed side by side. i think for the dept store, it doesnt matter if its displayed in their store. the buyers just need to be responsible for the things they buy. if u dont like knock-offs then dont buy it. what the dept store offers is variety of choices.
ReplyDeleteIf you look at this department store's print ads, YSL items naman ang kinokopya, specifically the Tribute shoes. Sad.
ReplyDeleteSometimes in the name of practicality... go to Divi or ukay nalang, because you get better quality for cheap. Sometimes pansin ko sa mga dept stores, they sell high price pero parang galing din D-V.
ReplyDeleteIf they put the logo, it's trademark infringement. If they just copied the design of the bag, it's not actionable under the IP Code. It doesn't fall under copyright infringement. However, they can be held liable under Article 21, New Civil Code.
ReplyDelete