The Myth of the ‘Deviant Other’: Who Buys Fashion Counterfeits?

Abstract

This chapter situates an understanding of the consumption of counterfeit fashion goods with the aim of challenging popular ideas about the `typical' counterfeit consumer and argues that there is little evidence to support this notion. The chapter examines the relevance of situational and contextual factors such as availability of counterfeit goods and their cost. These discussions consider `primary markets' (where consumers are deceived into buying counterfeits) and `secondary markets' (where consumers knowingly buy counterfeits), exploring similarities and differences in those who knowingly and unknowingly buy counterfeit fashion. As part of examining why people do buy counterfeit fashion, this chapter also examines the reasons why people would avoid consuming counterfeits.