A Walmart handbag resembling the iconic Hermes Birkin bag has become a hot topic in the fashion world. The lookalike, called the “Wirkin” bag, is priced between $78 and $102, attracting explosive consumer interest and selling out quickly.
The price of a genuine Hermes Birkin bag ranges from $9,000 to hundreds of thousands of dollars, making the Wirkin bag a bargain at roughly 1% of the cost.
According to New York Post, unboxing videos and reviews tagged with “#walmartbirkin” have gone viral on social media, particularly TikTok. One content creator posted, “You can pretend to own a Birkin bag for just $80.”
The surge in popularity of luxury handbag replicas has ignited a heated debate within the fashion industry. Supporters hail it as the democratization of luxury fashion, while critics argue it promotes fast fashion and insults craftsmanship.
Fashion experts have voiced concerns that the proliferation of luxury knockoffs could negatively impact the struggling luxury goods sector.
Hermes, which holds multiple trademarks and design patents for the Birkin bag, may pursue legal action against Walmart over the Wirkin bag, some speculate.
In an interview with CBS, Pierre-Alexis Dumas, artistic director of Hermes, dismissed rumors that buyers must pay a premium to purchase a Birkin bag. “Hermes doesn’t even have a marketing department,” he said, explaining that the scarcity of Birkin bags is due to their handcrafted production process, which cannot keep up with demand.
BY EUNYOUNG LEE [lee.eunyoung6@koreadaily.com]
