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If you have purchased a dupe, or a duplicate of a premium item for a lower price, you may be part of the newest Generation Z trend of “ballin’ on a budget.” This rising popularity of purchasing dupes was kick-started by the TikTok trend of people sharing the dupes they bought.  

According to a by Morning Consult, roughly half of Generation Z adults buy dupes. On TikTok, the hashtag #dupe has racked up over 6 billion views, demonstrating this generational trend of not needing the status symbols associated with brand names, but instead, liking products for their functionality. 

Brands like Skims, Lululemon, Charlotte Tilbury and Michael Kors, which cater to young women, are among the most popular products duplicated. The young women in this demographic may be TikTok’s most active users. But, why and how much do �鶹ӰԺ students buy into this trend? 

�鶹ӰԺ State Today decided to ask the students of �鶹ӰԺ State about their opinions on brands and dupes.

“I normally get my dupes from online stores like Amazon,” said Taylor Erwine, a sophomore economics major. “Skims is just so expensive, and why would I waste like $60 on something that I could find on sale for $20?” 

The rise of popular brands and products, say the pink Stanley, for example, can’t be ignored. Some people do want the name brand. But others just need a functional product that does roughly the same. 

Erwine’s friend, Maura Conrad, a sophomore interior design major, also loves the idea of dupes and has some of her own.  

“I don’t know anyone who actually cares about brand names and logos,” Conrad said. “I have so many dupes of so many things. Like my foundation is a Fenty Beauty dupe, and it looks just like the real one."

Dupes do come with some risks, though. For some, dupes feel inauthentic and do not work the way major brand labels do. Sophia Fabrizi, a sophomore finance major, explained.  

“I wanted the Tazz Ugg slippers because I saw them all over TikTok,” Fabrizi said. It was a major disappointment, she said. “I kept slipping out of them, and I could not walk in them for more than 10 minutes.” 

 has been declining for decades, as shoppers become less and less interested in going to in-person stores. But for many Gen Z shoppers, buying duplicates is almost like a game.  

“I honestly just wanted to see if the dupe was as good as the original,” Fabrizi said, “because at that point, fall was ending, and I didn’t even need the slippers anymore.”  

is also notoriously brand disloyal. Along with buying dupes of products, Gen Z does not place too much care on the well-being of major brands that are getting duped.

“Who cares if Kim Kardashian’s brand gets duped?” Erwine asked. “She doesn’t care about me, and Skims getting duped probably makes them more popular.”

Although it may increase a brand’s popularity by getting duped, some brands might say that duplicates hurt their brand image.  

Recently, from a Japanese clothing brand, for its alleged copying of a small shoulder bag. Uniqlo has stated that the duplicate design is of inferior quality and that it undermines customer confidence in their brand.  

Other than lawsuits, brands have been figuring out ways to fight back against dupes. In May of 2023, a “dupe swap,” where roughly 1,000 people received a free pair of the $98 Align leggings if they traded in their dupes of that product.  

As the popularity of duplicates rises, companies will likely find a way to try and work against it. Until then, the Gen Z of �鶹ӰԺ State will likely continue to express their on-campus style on the cheap.