Fashion Law Journal
ABOUT DIOR
Dior is a French multinational luxury fashion firm controlled and chaired by French businessman Bernard Arnault, who also controls LVMH. Dior owns 42.36% of LVMH and has 59.01% of the voting rights. Christian Dior, a French fashion designer coming from Normandy, launched the firm in 1946. This brand solely sells shoes and clothes that may be purchased in Dior boutiques. Christian Dior Couture is in charge of Haute Couture. Since 2023, Delphine Arnault has served as CEO of Christian Dior Couture.
The brand has been cited as the catalyst for Paris’ revival as the fashion capital of the world after it fell from its prominent position after WWII.
The price range for Dior products can vary widely depending on the specific item and collection. Generally, Dior products are considered high-end luxury items and can be quite expensive.
COUNTERFEIT LUXURY
A counterfeit item is one that uses another person’s trademark without their consent. Criminals strive to exploit the reputation of the trademark owner by creating or selling a counterfeit. Counterfeiting is a serious crime that involves the fraudulent imitation (forgery) of a trusted brand and product.
Today, the term “mimicry” refers to how fast fashion firms adapt to the design styles of prominent high-end labels, a practise that is rapidly changing the $220 billion global luxury goods and fashion market.
“More frequently, we see brands like Zara imitating designers like Prada or Dior.” “They don’t completely copy; they just use elements,” Dr Min Teah of Curtin University’s School of Marketing explained.
A Dior dress compared with a Zara T-shirt design.
ONLINE MARKET AND PLATFORM
Christian Dior has filed a trademark infringement suit against the operators of a number of online websites which allegedly sell counterfeit products.
The platforms include iOffer, eBay, AliExpress, Alibaba, Amazon, and Wish.com.
However, the world’s most prolific counterfeiters, the Chinese, have already restructured their enterprises by retreating to even more secluded online locations.
Many of the country’s most skilled forgers are now selling their wares on social messaging platforms such as Tencent Holdings Ltd’s WeChat. They begin by marketing their offerings both locally and globally on channels such as Instagram or ByteDance Ltd’s, Tik Tok. Buyers then place their orders and make payments using private chat apps. Such transactions may be considered “friend-to-friend” rather than “e-commerce” as defined by the current legislation.
According to Dior, the online stores all share unique identifiers, such as design elements and similarities of the counterfeit products being offered for sale. The counterfeiters also allegedly use search engine optimisation tactics and social media spamming so that their internet stores appear high up in search results, misdirecting consumers away from genuine Dior products.
COUNTERFEIT IDENTIFICATION
How to identify fake Dior’s?
- The simplest way to verify if a bag is legitimate is to carefully study the inner label, which is that small square patch sewed onto the interior zip pocket. The label should be attached to the top (so it can be flipped up) and should read “Christian Dior” and “Paris” in front, with MADE IN ITALY (or SPAIN) and the code on the reverse. Some bags (like Gaucho) will have both Christian Dior Paris and MADE IN ITALY printed on the front, so do your research and learn everything you can about the style you’re interested in.
- Every real Lady Dior bag should have a leather tag attached to its interior lining. The tag should be rectangular, but with rounded corners, and stitched on all four of its sides. Often, the stitches along the top of the tag will be a slightly different color than those along the left, right, and bottom.
- The basic rule is that genuine Dior hardware isn’t smooth and shiny, but rather matte and aged. So, if you’re looking for a great new look, pay attention to this and, if the hardware looks too dazzling (or even cheap), don’t rush to get that perhaps counterfeit baby.
- Your bag should arrive in a compact package with a grey, watermarked Authenticity Card and a Care Booklet, both of which should be translated into three languages (English, Chinese, and French). On one side, the authenticity card should say Christian Dior in black or gold, with blank fields on the other.
- Poor stitching and low quality materials are two very clear indicators of a fake bag.
- Usually the Dior products are luxurious and have a extraordinary pricing. An authentic bag sold for $1000 can be counterfeited and sold for $150 which is fake. So check for the pricing too.
CHRISTIAN DIOR TAKES COUNTERFEITERS TO COURT
In the Christian Dior case, the designer brand has brought legal action against a number of online counterfeiters, claiming they sold fake clothes and accessories with the Dior trademarks including Christian Dior, Dior, and CD, as well as the brand’s statement squares and diamonds Cannage design.
The brand claimed that hundreds of internet sites had been set up and designed to look like they sold genuine Dior products “while actually selling counterfeit Dior products to unknowing consumers.” Dior alleged the “interrelated group of counterfeiters,” largely based in China, had actively concealed their identities and activities.
Through the trademark infringement lawsuit, the brand is seeking extensive action against the counterfeiters, including injunctive relief to stop the websites trading, as well as an order that other online marketplaces cease relations with the counterfeiters. Dior is also seeking around $6m in statutory damages for trademark infringement and an additional $100,000 for each domain name the counterfeiters used to sell the fake goods.
