Firkin: What’s The Deal With The Walmart Birkin

This past December, the argument of whether or not fakes are socially acceptable swarmed social media. Influencer scandals involving entire Christmas hauls claiming fake bags as real stirred massive controversy. Amongst the chaos, the Firkin arose.

Hermès Birkin bags are internationally recognized as a status symbol. The brand markets the bag through its exclusivity, as it can’t be purchased through a standard retail experience. Birkins are bestowed upon those Hermès deems worthy, in back rooms of the store. A sacred exchange between you and your sales associate.

Fakes have always been an issue for designer brands. However, up until the internet, fakes were less accessible to those who could not afford the real deal. They could be found in alleyways in large cities like Canal St. in New York City, bestowed to customers in hushed exchanges of wads of cash.

Online shopping brought about the dawn of a new age. Welcoming accessibility to designer bags that could be considered out of reach for the working class girl. Through websites that specialize in manufacturing hoards of fake designer items (such as DH Gate and AliExpress), consumers have more direct access to them. The stigma around purchasing fakes has lessened through TikTok users providing direct links to items as well. The online exchange still reads a little sketchy, but is wildly successful nonetheless. 

Due to this, designer dupes are commonly seen on the market. Those who place value in designer items take pride in their keen eye and ability to spot them in the wild. The stitching, the texture of the leather, and the placement of tags and logos. All tell tale signs of a fraudulent purchase. 

Despite this, the coveted Birkin maintained its place at the top of the handbag food chain. A counterfeit Birkin was still not as accessible, at least not a good quality fake that could fool even the most loyal Hermès fanatic. 

This changed as the Walmart Birkin — also dubbed the Wirkin (walmart birkin)(working class birkin) — arrived on the scene last year. The most exclusive handbag at America’s most accessible retail cooperation, retailing for around $60-$80 — thousands less than the Hermès original. Those whose Birkin’s were earned through countless Hermès purchases, tens to hundreds of thousands of dollars, and years of work were furious. Those who had never thought a Birkin could be in their future were ecstatic. The court of public opinion cracked wide open with this divide. 

Fakes exist in a legal grey area where brands can only act in certain circumstances. According to a Forbes article Hermès, known to be fiercely defensive of its trademarked Birkin, could very well challenge Walmart under the trade dress subset of trademark law which is basically a design trademark. The purse is no longer available on the Walmart webpage, and it’s just a waiting game to see if Hermès takes action.  

While consumers should be able to purchase whatever they choose, the issue with influencers marketing their fake purses as real is a little more complex. Transparency is key when finding oneself in the public eye, and passing off fakes for the real thing continues a culture in which younger consumers feel the need to buy into an unrealistic lifestyle. 

Young girls should not feel as though they should have thousands of dollars swinging from their shoulder at the ripe age of fifteen. Masquerading a counterfeit as real on a public platform is selling a false reality. Although in private, however you spend (or save) your money is your business.

The Firkin proved to be Bethany Frankle — a member of The Real Housewives franchise — approved as she compared the fake side by side with the real purse on her TikTok. Many social media users raved in reviews online as they bought the increasingly more popular bag, stunned at its quality and remarkable likeness to the actual luxury item. The accuracy of the purse seemed to spark more displeasure in Birkin owners. 

Some detest fakes for environmental reasons. While the Hermès Birkin is handcrafted with care, companies producing its counterfeit tend to lean on unethical modes of manufacturing. Others are up in arms due to good old fashioned elitism. 

Those snubbing the Firkin purely to maintain the wall between them and the masses of other American consumers are the reason for a large part of the frenzy to purchase counterfeit. So many people being made to feel lesser than over the possession of a handbag is precisely the cause to jump at the first affordably priced and accurately copied design of the status symbol.

Not to mention, designers and fashion houses are not historically innocent, many known to have a few unethical practices even in their recent past. This begs the question of whether a hefty purchase for the real thing is really more ethical. Hermès has enabled a culture in which those on the hunt for a Birkin find themselves feeling like they must make purchases at the store even if it’s not of use to them. If their sales associate offers them a purse, they swipe their card no matter what it looks like. 

When overconsumption is such a serious issue, are those multitudes of unnecessary large transactions any better than a singular purchase of a bag that doesn’t have the Hermès stamp on it?

All of which leaves consumers to wonder which is the more ethical purchase, Birkin or Firkin?

• birkin
• handbag
• luxury brands
• style