A game of dupes
Being copied could be the best indicator of success in social networks. But at what cost? #dupes
Already a little over a year writing this weekly newsletter. Thank you for reading and feel free to share it!
The word "dupe" - a contraction of the term "duplicate" - is one of the heavy trends both in terms of consumption and social networks.
The principle: inexpensive alternatives to luxury products, but which do not exactly reproduce the logos or details protected by brands, meaning they remain within legal boundaries and cannot be considered counterfeits (in theory...). On TikTok, over 208,000 videos are tagged #dupe, presenting items in the realms of fashion, perfume, and jewelry.
A form of recognition incited by the culture of the creator economy.
Most contemporary creators see the #dupe culture as a form of recognition for their work - and their vision. The argument: if a brand is strong enough to be discussed, shared, or even become iconic, then it must accept being an influence. This influence can thus become the basis for numerous copies, numerous remixes on a greater or lesser scale, notably through social networks.
The legendary Virgil Abloh, artistic director for men at Louis Vuitton and founder of the Off-White brand, had this very explicit thought:
"Off-White, a T-shirt is like $200, a hoodie is like $300. At the upper level, like, don't let Zara or Uniqlo educate you on the price of a garment because that's not fashion. That's like McDonald's, so your health is tied to that. It's like, here's a 99-cent nugget."
Virgil Abloh
In short: one must become the price maker, that is, reach a position allowing them to set their prices in the market. And to achieve this status, social networks encourage creators (and brands) to be information makers. In other words, to become a source of information, a transmitter of news in sum, and impose what will be more important than another subject. Kanye West (or rather Ye) has become an expert in the matter. The character understood that the perspective of his remarks or antics by any establishment hardly mattered, as long as he produced and proposed his context to his myriad of followers, who do not necessarily have the desire to extract themselves from the algorithmic experience offered by TikTok. A modernized version of Blaise Pascal's quote "Amusing justice that a river bounds. Truth on this side of the Pyrenees, error beyond."
We could summarize the evolution of success and strength in social networks in three stages.
The era of followers, subscribers. "If you have a dream that no one follows, then it’s an empty dream": this is a quote from the artist Hiromi Marissa Ozaki, better known as Sputniko! At the beginning of social networks, popularity guarantees success with a growing mass of followers, subscribers, fans. It's because you've reached a critical mass that you can acquire even more critical masses, through the suggestive power of platforms.
The era of mention. Beyond the number of people following a business or talent on social networks, it's its ability to be mentioned that prevails. So it's not surprising that brands leave a social network overnight (like Bottega Veneta or LUSH). By producing absence, they paradoxically create attention, presence in the mind, and make their customers and other over-connected influencers do the job. By disappearing, they explode the score of mentions in social networks.
The era of movement. It's probably the era we have entered. We want to be part of a trend, a symbol, a hype around an object or an idea at our own scale. The "dupe" allows us to participate in the wave at a lower cost, without ruining ourselves, all while celebrating the original.
A game of bluff.
However, the logic of the dupe seems counterintuitive for organizations while large companies fight for patents and intellectual property behind their creations. For example, Hermès won a lawsuit against the artist Mason Rothschild - whose real name is Sonny Estival - who had developed NFTs "MetaBirkin" referring to the iconic Birkin bag. Regarding models of artificial intelligence, lawyers are fighting with millions of dollars to determine what can be protected or not, which questions the sustainability of these logics. Furthermore, this game of dupes favors - especially - talents or brands that already have immense exposure. The number of cases where an artist gets stolen a technique or a way of producing an image has exploded: fast fashion is the world champion of the discipline. This means that for the dupe to truly benefit someone, that person would need to have already built a very strong online reputation not only to emit their creation, be noticed, and also be defended by their community. We are far from collaborative but close to a war of clans.
In any case, dupes demonstrate the energy necessary to endure online. It is now essential to be seen, discussed, and to generate adherence, movement. An increasingly demanding vitality, which becomes a capital not quite like the others.
This week's figure: 56%
According to the latest Vice: Guide to Culture, 56% of Gen Z declare "my avatar is me." In other words, they would fully assume the creation of characters, a fiction around themselves, encouraged by social networks and video games.
The amazing links:
The famous Vice Guide to Culture is to be read here.
The most popular music genres worldwide? YouGov gives us some clues.
Fleeting spaces could be the future of education. To be read from MIT's side.
The media consumption habits of "alphas" (children aged 0 to 10) are to be discovered at Morning Consult.
Have a great week! And feel free to share this newsletter, like, comment, or continue to send me emails: these notifications are a joy.