'Affordable fashion' is the new status symbol

Step aside Hermes idolaters, Walmart has just stepped on your toes and sensibilities.

- CITO BELTRAN

If you haven't heard or seen the news, I just watched a news item that says Walmart has been "laughing all the way to the checkout counter" as loyal customers grabbed every available "Wirkin" bag on site in 2024. At about a hundred dollars a bag, many Walmart shoppers are brandishing their "Wirkins" in the face of the six-figure "Birkin" bags.

Wirkins are made of leather, looked really good and, to the chagrin of Hermes bag owners and lawyers, the look is too close for comfort.

If this is all true, I don't know what would be more insulting to Birkin bag owners, the fact that their prized possessions now have lookalikes retailing at one percent of the standard Birkin bag that goes from $9,000 to six figures and above? Or the fact that someone has punched a hole in the exclusive-elitist perception attached to ownership and the brand.

Here in Asia, and in the Philippines in particular, we used to buy and wear knockoff clothing, bags, footwear and jewelry. But in recent times, I have seen seniorly well-to-do friends wearing unbranded bling or very "affordable fashion" accessories bought online, such as watches that are as flashy as Richard Mille.

There are even businessmen I know who intentionally "dress down" their bling or wear affordable fashion, just to see the look on the face of people who are so brand conscious they need to check out what other people are wearing.