The luxury that was whispered. Now shout out And Bangkok is a place where the lies become impossible to ignore.
From Italy to Bangkok, I’ve walked into Louis Vuitton, Dior, Gucci, Prada and Fendi stores and walked out angry, bored and quietly insulted. Not because I can’t afford it, but because I can’t justify it anymore. The illusion has been shattered, and once you see it, you can’t take your eyes off it.
Luxury goods did not collapse because of fakes.
It collapsed because it overproduced to the point of pointlessness.
Real Dior!
The problem of oversupply that no one wants to admit
In the past, luxury brands lacked design. Not only are they expensive, they are rare. Today they are everywhere. airplane. Shopping mall. outlet. Pop-up cafe. Activate Instagram. This is a gold-plated flagship designed for selfies rather than practicality.
If you over-communicate availability, you under-communicate meaning.
Bangkok makes this painfully obvious. Enter Dior’s “gold” store, clean, shiny and controlled. Touch the denim. Try the canvas tote embroidery. Then go into Fashion Platinum Mall, or Chatuchak, and touch the so-called “dupe”.
Here’s the inconvenient truth. The difference is no longer tactile.
Linen feels the same way.
Embroidery feels the same way.
The weight of the hardware is felt.
And when your fingers can’t tell the difference, the spell is broken.
When fakes stop feeling like fakes
I didn’t go looking for ‘fake rich people’. I went looking for answers.
Bangkok’s Chatuchak Market is no longer a shady back alley. It is a rapidly growing retail ecosystem. Packed stores. Clients are confident. There is no shame. There are no secrets. People aren’t trying to fool anyone, they’re making rational consumer decisions.
Fendi’s replica was special.
Gucci loafers? The structure and feel are the same.
Prada shoes? Same leather hands.
Hermes style sandals? Same cowhide leather — yes. It’s all cowhide, and most of it comes from the same Chinese supply chain that luxury quietly relies on.
Loewe Dupes shocked me the most. finish. Sewing discipline. Edge paint. knob. This was not a sloppy imitation, but a competent product.
This is the danger zone for luxury brands.
Because once the fake is good enough, the real thing has to be meaningfully better. And that is not the case now.
“Made in Italy” is no longer a guarantee – it’s a story
I shop in Italy. I shop in Vietnam. I shop vintage. I know fabric. I know architecture. I know when something is engineered and when it is stylized.
In Italian stores, the lines are already blurring. Prada Outlet vs. Prada Boutique? Same material, diluted exclusivity. Then Bangkok gets the job done. The myth falls apart when the same tone of hardware, the same zipper resistance, and the same canvas density appear on market stalls.
Luxury leans too hard on scale while still pretending to be artisanal.
Consumers noticed.
dior tote problem
The Dior canvas tote bag is the perfect symbol of this breakdown.
Once an “it” bag, it’s now become a visual cliché. You can find them everywhere: real, fake, counterfeit, borrowed, leased, resold. When the embroidery in a Bangkok shopping mall feels identical to that of a Dior flagship, what exactly are you paying for?
It’s not craftsmanship.
It’s not rare.
It’s not innovation.
You are paying to be allowed to belong. It feels redundant if everyone already has access.
Pop-up cafe era: When luxury becomes entertainment
Dior Cafe. LV Cafe. Gucci Cafe.
Luxury brands now sell coffee, not culture.
These pop-ups are a distraction tactic. In other words, it’s an experience designed to mask product fatigue. When the bags don’t evolve, the brand turns to latte art and photography.
But consumers are not stupid. We feel stagnant.
Nothing has changed except the price.
Emotional Change: From Lust to Anger
What luxury executives underestimate is that emotions matter more than profits.
I didn’t just lose interest, I felt cheated.
When gold hardware looks the same whether it’s Dior or a Bangkok dupe, when denim feels the same as Zara or Gentlewoman, when prices rise and innovation stagnates, anger replaces aspiration.
Luxury felt earned. Now I feel extracted.
The rise of the “quiet opt-out”
Something different is quietly happening.
People with tastes are opting out.
Go for small, non-mass produced brands that aren’t fake. Artisan’s atelier. Local maker. vintage. Limited edition designers that don’t flood the market or beg for relevance.
Luxury goods have not lost customers to fakes.
They have lost their sanity.
fake rich vs real worth
Chatuchak Boom is not about pretending to be rich. It is a rejection of bad values.
Consumers are no longer impressed by logos alone. They are asking uncomfortable questions.
- Why does it cost 10 times more?
- Where is the real difference?
- Who benefits from my loyalty?
When luxury brands cannot convincingly answer these questions, the market provides answers.
When everyone wins but the brand
Ironically, everyone is winning except luxury homes.
- Consumers can get similar quality for less money.
- Manufacturers improve their technology.
- Independent brands are attracting attention.
- Vintage earns trust.
The only thing you lose is the illusion of superiority.
Luxury’s key mistakes
Luxury confuses visibility with value.
By oversupplying the market, over-imposing desirability, and charging legacy prices while outsourcing its soul, it has taught consumers just how fungible it really is.
If you over-deliver the quantity, you will not convey the meaning either.
Where should I go instead?
I will no longer chase logos.
I would choose:
- Brands that do not flood the market
- Designers who don’t need pop-up cafes
- Materials that justify the price
- Objects that feel intentional rather than algorithmic
Luxury isn’t dead, but mass luxury is.
And Bangkok reveals that truth better than Paris can through its brutally honest retail.
