Just as the holiday season approached, a new product hit the shelves of Walmart’s big-box store. A medium-sized boxy purse retailing at $80 began flying off the shelves and causing a controversy among luxury fashion collectors—all due to its uncanny resemblance to the elusive Hermes Birkin bag.
With the same-sized straps and a similar front buckle, fans began to realize the bags looked so identical that it was nearly impossible to tell them apart unless scrutinizing the fine details. Middle-class shoppers began flocking to Walmart’s online store to order the bag. After it sold out, second-hand retailers started making a killing on TikTok shops and Amazon with very similar products. While fashion fans were thrilled, many of the world’s most wealthy began to fume with jealousy.
Obtaining an actual Birkin bag is nearly impossible. One cannot just walk into a Hermes store and buy one. Handcrafted with premium quality leather, an actual Birkin bag is cut, sewn, and polished by a Hermes artisan trained for no less than five years. To purchase a bag, customers must be deemed worthy by a sales associate, usually by buying hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of Hermes merch. Only the world’s wealthiest – royalty, heads of state, and Kardashians – have the luxury of even being considered worthy enough for a bag until now.
Many have expressed outrage online, with commenters on viral “Wirkin” TikTok videos condemning the bag for promoting fast fashion trends. However, the viral bag seems to have far more supporters. “I think it speaks to the mass population of people wanting something that exudes status, without the price tag,” Massachusetts marketing professional Kaleigh Durkin said in an interview with Glamour.
The original Birkin bag was designed as a utilitarian accessory for busy mothers. Many fans of the “Wirkin” argue that the Walmart dupe returns the design to its original intent: to aid working mothers with functionality and quality.