FWIW, the fashion induatry works this way on purpose, in order to drive product. The factories that put out the knockoffs are often the ones that produced the o

FWIW, the fashion induatry works this way on purpose, in order to drive product. The factories that put out the knockoffs are often the ones that produced the original. Knockoffs saturate the market making, last season's product unfashionable, so haute couture consumers have to buy new stuff again. As a corollary, the knockoffs subsidize the genuine article's production runs, so both the manufacturers and the design companies benefit from this. Source: my wife, working in manufacturing in Shenzhen right.now.