How TikTok is disrupting the luxury handbag market

A curious phenomenon is unfolding on TikTok, where videos of “luxury handbags” straight from Chinese factories are racking up millions of views. On the surface, these clips are merely the latest in a long line of viral content. But beneath the algorithm-driven virality lies a more disquieting reality for the global fashion industry: counterfeiters are no longer lurking in back alleys—they’re broadcasting in plain sight.

In bypassing traditional retail channels and U.S. tariffs, a growing number of Chinese manufacturers are using platforms like TikTok to market directly to Western consumers. The pitch is seductive: “factory extras,” “dupes,” and “almost identical” designer bags, offered at a fraction of boutique prices. It’s a value proposition that many consumers, especially younger ones, are increasingly willing to entertain.

But the distinction between a dupe and a fraud is narrowing in the digital age. As social media platforms collapse the distance between the manufacturer and the end customer, so too do they erode the boundaries between legitimate and counterfeit goods. The luxury resale market, already a complex ecosystem, now faces an added layer of opacity—fueled by viral misinformation and the allure of cut-rate luxury.

“This is a wake-up call,” says Vidyuth Srinivasan, co-founder and CEO of Entrupy, a company pioneering the use of artificial intelligence to authenticate luxury goods. Consumers are being led to believe they’re accessing some kind of insider’s market. But what they’re really being sold is a myth—and often, a fake.

Indeed, the notion of “factory extras” has long been a seductive urban legend in fashion circles. The idea that a few surplus items slip through the cracks of luxury production lines and into the hands of savvy buyers is largely unfounded—and deeply problematic. It lends counterfeiters a veneer of legitimacy and muddies the waters for both consumers and legitimate resellers.

A digital authentication tool

Entrupy, whose AI-driven authentication tools are used by high-end retailers, department stores, and pawn shops globally, reports a 99.1 percent accuracy rate in detecting counterfeits—often catching details imperceptible to the human eye. As Srinivasan notes, such precision is becoming indispensable in an era where fakes are not only more convincing, but more widely distributed.

For the luxury industry, this moment represents both a challenge and an inflection point. Consumer trust, once the bedrock of luxury brand equity, is now being tested on platforms optimised for virality rather than veracity. And as the resale market continues its meteoric rise—forecast to reach 51 billion dollars globally by 2026—the demand for credible, scalable authentication solutions is becoming existential.

What’s needed now is not just tighter enforcement or better technology, but a cultural recalibration. The fashion industry must not only police its borders more effectively, but also educate consumers on the dangers of counterfeit culture—not just for brands, but for ethical sourcing, labour standards, and the very integrity of the luxury experience.

The counterfeit crisis, once considered a fringe concern, has gone mainstream. And TikTok, for better or worse, is where the battle is now being fought.