TikTok's Walmart Birkin trend explained: Luxury brand Hermes' bag dupe axed after going viral
An expert recently explained that the viral Walmart Birkin social media storm could potentially push Hermes to pursue legal action.
In a surprising plot twist, Walmart has axed the relatively pocket-friendly alternative to the high-end and exorbitant luxury of the Hermes Birkin bag. Despite the viral Birkin bag dupe's booming popularity, the retailer has apparently removed the popular listing from its website.
The US Sun reported that a “We couldn’t find this page” prompt popped up online in place of the affordable faux purses, which are suitable alternatives to the real deal. Dubbed the ‘Wirkin’ or ‘Walmes,’ the replica scored its new viral sensational status thanks to its resemblance to the authentic Birkin bags made in France, which sell for upwards of $9,000.
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Countering the pricey and exclusive tags of the original Hermes label item, the Walmart option’s budget-friendly price, starting around $80, offers over a 99% cheaper deal for anticipating shoppers who have often swept the shelves clean. Numerous third-party sellers, such as Kamugo, Bestspr, Ymtq and Judy, were initially offering the Wirkin on the Walmart website with over 10 colours and several models. Once it caught social media’s attention, a raging storm launched a brand-new TikTok trend among fashion lovers.
Social media is head over heels in love with the viral Walmart Birkin bag
Shoppers took to their social media handles to shower their latest obsession with praising compliments and love for its accessibility, affordability and classy resemblance to the original bag. Hundreds of unboxing videos popped up online under the hashtag #walmartbirkin. TikTokkers put on their supposed professional hats to share styling tips. The surging reviews for the Birkin dupe invited more and more attention from others, encouraging even more people to spend on Walmart’s latest star attraction.
However, not everyone has been a big fan of this new byproduct of fast fashion. Riding the opposing wave of hate against the Walmart Birkin dupe bags, some claimed they would never opt for the alternative as they “like quality too much.”
Possibly why the Walmart Birkin bag's online listing was removed
Amid the Wirkin’s acquired TikTok virality, an expert has also questioned its legality, especially since Hermes could hit it out against the retail chain and the third-party vendors selling the dupe bag. As reported by WWD.com, Douglas Hand, a fashion lawyer and a member of the business advisory committee of the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA), said, “For an extremely valuable product like Birkin, which could be diluted and devalued through its overexposure, it would not be surprising for Hermès to take an aggressive approach.”
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He added that the high-end luxury brand “may seek to prevent what is called ‘post-sale confusion’ which is the circumstance where, even if the purchasing consumer knows the product is not genuine, Hermès’ reputation could be harmed by those who see others carrying the bags and think that Hermès is making shoddy product.”
Hermes' takes pride in its Birkin trademark
Since the French brand has a flagship hold over defending its Birkin trademark and design rights for decades, it won’t be a shocker if and when it pursues legal action against Walmart’s counterfeit offering. “To the extent Walmart is promoting the bag as the equivalent of, or an alternative to, the Birkin bag, it would be hard for them to deny that intentional copying,” Hand said.
Over a decade ago, Hermes sued Thursday Friday for selling canvas bags with Birkin images. A year later, it won $100 million in damages after pursuing legal action against 34 websites for selling fake goods associated with the brand. Despite the viral dupe trend, courts are likely to go with Hermes. Hand explained, “Generally speaking, the more famous the trade dress rights are, the greater the likelihood of protection.”
On top of that, the brand could even cite confusion in the marketplace as a credible accusation as Walmart's marketplace reportedly also features third-party vendors' listings for what are believed to be authentic Birkin bags.
The original Birkin bag was released in 1984. Defending the Jean-Louis Dumas design and the brand’s “costly” tag, Hermes artistic director Pierre Alexis Dumas said in a ‘60 Minutes’ interview, “I’ve always heard that Hermès is very costly. It’s not expensive. It’s costly. Expensive is a product which is not delivering what it’s supposed to deliver, but you’ve paid quite a large amount of money for it, and then it betrays you. That’s expensive.”
