Ooh, May I Have Some Of That Chop Suey Vuitton Please?

Gasant Abarder writes in a new SliceofGasant column that he can't afford Gucci- or Hermes-anything and even if he got his hands on an original item, no one would believe it was real because the prices are just bonkers. Now that Chinese manufacturers have wreaked havoc for luxury brands, no one can even tell what is Balmain-stream!

If you bought a handbag in good conscience for 38 000 roughly R720 000, you could have a bad case of the Hermes. I don't care if you're o-Fendi-d but if you own something as garish, vulgar and crass as a Gucci, Louis Vuitton or Versace at that price there is a good chance you're a moron.

Chinese manufacturers have recently lifted the lid and claim 80 percent of all luxury handbags, shoes and sneakers, and clothing are made in their factories for much less before they're marked up by about a million percent for retail in Europe and the United States.

The Chinese say the bags are sent to Europe as finished products before a label, like 'Made in Italy', is sewn on to make it authentic. This label, they say, is ultimately the difference between a bag that costs around 2 000 to make but retails for 38 000.

The luxury brands have taken umbrage and deny the claim. But the Chinese manufacturers have taken millions of TikTok viewers behind the scenes. Whether true or not it doesn't matter because there is enough doubt for consumers to question their life decisions. It's a scandal that will be tough to recover from - especially because the Chinese are now offering to sell the wares directly to the public at a nano-fraction of the retail cost.