In the documentary, "Illicit: The Dark Trade"-by National Geographic, it begins with the seemingly innocent purchase of a designer knock-off handbag. The documentary then follows the veins from the counterfeit bag being sold on the street, back to its origin of construction thousands of miles away. What’s more is that the journey, from shop to streets, is shared with very sinister company in-tow. The likes of which are human trafficking, counterfeit pharmaceutical drugs, and illegal organ transplants to list a few. This well established and flourishing industry of illicit trafficking of goods, has become a full scale epidemic that gains momentum daily. All efforts to slow down this high speed train is like a snail trying to out run a cougar: with every bust, they lop of the head of a monster only to turn around and see ten more heads sprouting from its' neck.
In watching this documentary, I began to wonder how this would affect my craft should I be fortunate enough to succeed and become a profitable designer? How will I protect my trade from imitation knock-offs, that are often more perfect than the designer brand who releases them? Would I even be aware that it was even happening across the globe? The answer is simply a matter of effort I would have to put forth to protect my goods.
As it stands, I am a purse maker, so this documentary was not too surprising in regards to the endless knock-offs that I've seen personally. I always, however, wondered how the designer giants: Prada, Gucci, Chanel and Fendi, managed in fighting off the relentless opportunists that copy and sell their wears. The answer was a combination of sorts. In some ways, they could do nothing and let knock-offs be distributed, as is the case currently, and see this as a positive for advertising on the behalf of designer houses. Though I would counter that this logic does not support the essence of why these giants are so successful. The whole idea is that these brands are a status. Only those with cash can carry. So if the average high school student, or Walmart mom has a Chanel bag over her shoulder, then it loses its luster for exclusivity. The other option was to higher expensive private investigation crews to seek out the imitators and shut-down the factories. For those who have the means, this is a very viable option, though very slow to achieve its goal.
My solution is maintain exclusivity is to have a registry. I currently make one-of-a-kind handbags that are not easily replicated due to the very nature of how I make my prints and I lack patterns for construction. The result is a purse that is yielded out of materials that I have on hand, and at the amount of it I have in that particular print. That's not to say that this type of print making is not susceptible to imitation, but it does make it harder. Furthermore, by having a registry, I could personally issue a number to that purse, that I only have access to. So upon purchase, the purse is sent with a card of authenticity and a number that ensures the item is not a fake and can be traced back to my hub. I could also change the sequence of numeric filing to stay ahead of copy-cats, who try to emulate my system. In all, I think this will be more successful at maintaining the exclusivity that every consumer wants when buying a luxury piece that sets them apart from the mainstream. I want that right for my clientel and think this will ensure their satisfaction with my product and my name.
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