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It’s not shocking that some students at Harvard, one of the most elite universities in the United States, wear expensive clothes and accessories. However, for students who didn’t grow up around money, seeing a friend wear a Van Cleef necklace and bracelet might initially give them pause. They might wonder if this person actually dropped over $8000 on one jewelry set — or just bought some $10 dupes at the Faneuil Hall vendors in Boston.
In a world of street vendors, Temu, Amazon, and the like, it has become increasingly difficult to discern designer products from dupes. Despite this, luxury items such as Gucci watches or Birkin bags are still regarded as status symbols.
Yet, recent TikTok trends suggest a societal shift toward valuing the quality and use of an item over the luxury brand name.
A now-deleted TikTok account under the name @senbags2 posted a viral video on April 13 explaining how their company, Sen Bags, was allegedly the original equipment manufacturer for many luxury handbag brands such as Gucci, Prada, Coach, Louis Vuitton, and many others.
Wang Sen, the face of Sen Bags, explains in the video that the company manufactures high quality bags and sells them to luxury brands at very low prices. However, he claims that these brands pretend that the bags were not manufactured in China.
“They take almost-finished bags from Chinese factories back to their own factories and do the repackaging and logo installing,” Sen said. “That way, the bags appear as being made in Italy or made in France.
This viral video has influenced countless other creators to create similar videos “exposing” the Chinese manufacturers behind Lululemon, L’Oréal, Nike, and other big name brands. In these videos, creators encourage viewers to buy goods straight from the manufacturer instead of overpriced, recognizable brands.
At the same time, many creators have come out with videos that “debunk” this trend, alleging these Chinese manufacturers are selling dupes, albeit convincing ones.
It’s difficult to discern which side is factually correct, considering the lack of sources on TikTok and the conflicting news coverage. Even so, this real vs. dupe debate doesn’t seem to be the most newsworthy outcome of the trend. Rather, the audience response is.
In the comment sections of reuploaded @senbags2 videos, between comments that praise Sen for enlightening his audience and those that belittle him for lying, comments that reflect a change in consumer values going beyond this viral trend can be found.
“I don’t care about brand no more. I care about quality,” user @thaogoby commented on one reposted video.
While this TikTok comment may seem trivial at first glance, it reflects a far more significant societal shift.
If customers are willing to buy items based solely on their quality — their aesthetic, durability, craftsmanship, and functionality — then luxury brands will lose their biggest advantage: their status. After all, it’s not just the quality that many luxury customers are buying when they purchase a product — it’s the status that comes with the brand name.
Still, one could argue that luxury fashion is of better quality, and this is the reason it is so overpriced.
However, leather expert and TikTok creator Tanner Leatherstein has spent numerous videos debunking this idea.
In a recent video, Leatherstein took apart a Louis Vuitton bag worth over $2700. He claimed that to make an exact replica of this bag, one would need to spend around $100 on leather and $160 on craftsmanship, for a total production cost of $260. He even took into account an upcharge for profit, assuming that someone might sell it for around $600.
The remaining $2100? One can assume that’s the monetary value Louis Vuitton assigns to their products’ prestige.
“What we often call luxury today isn’t about rarity, artisanship, or the finest materials. It’s about branding,” Leatherstein said in a different TikTok video. “It’s about mass-produced, overpriced items wrapped in a glamorous halo.”
If trends such as this continue, luxury goods may begin to be defined by their quality rather than their perceived status. After all, just because something is expensive doesn’t mean it’s necessarily better.
As internet trends begin to signal a preference for quality over prestige, how will Harvard students, who are part of an institution defined by prestige, react? Hopefully, students will think twice about their next luxury purchase. Perhaps they will conclude that $5000 for a bracelet isn’t really worth it.
Maybe students will instead opt for significantly cheaper yet beautifully crafted unbranded bracelets, or even the $10 bracelet from Faneuil Hall — depending on which aspect of quality they value most.
In the end, value isn’t determined by a brand name or label — but by the quality of the product itself.
