Date of Award

11-2024

Document Type

Thesis

Department

Management and Marketing

First Advisor

Garo Agopian

Abstract

The business of fast fashion has expanded tremendously since the nineties (Ozdamar-Ertekin, 2016). This expansion is caused by the market’s demand for low-cost trendy items (Jin et al., 2012), the overproduction of merchandising (Joy et al., 2012), online shopping (Rosskamp, 2018), technology-facilitated designs (Peroni, & Vitali, 2017), and faster delivery processes (Moon et al., 2017). The effects caused by the expansion of the fast fashion industry can be detrimental to consumers' self-concept (Legere, & Kang, 2020), result in the amplification of mass production (Moretta et al., 2013) and can have negative consequences to the environment (Peters et al., 2021). In this thesis, I focused on a specific aspect of fast fashion: dupes. A dupe is a less expensive replica of a desirable, high-end product (Abdel-Jaber, 2021). First, I examined the nature of the industry and synthesized different definitions of the term “dupe” from research studies; second, I collected data on dupe examples and their original creations; third, I conducted a data analysis comparing dupes to their originals and summarized the results. This thesis will explore the relationship between fashion dupes and their original counterparts. It will examine the similarities in craftsmanship, design, and texture, providing a comprehensive analysis of the nature of dupes and their place within the fashion industry.

Available for download on Thursday, August 20, 2026

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