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Fake Britain: The rise of the imitation industry

A recent survey revealed that two thirds of Britons are happy to buy designer rip-offs. But that's
only the start of our addiction to fakery. Susie Rushton reports on the rise and rise of the imitation
industry

Any receptionist at one of the big hotels in Shanghai can give you directions to the "Fake Market".
It's located right next to the mall which houses 1. __________ stores for Prada, Fendi and Louis
Vuitton. Authentic must-have totes and their cut-price simulacra sell side-by-side here. Tourists and
fashion-conscious Shanghaiese can identify the new bag they want 2. __________ in shop windows
or in the advertising 3. __________ that cover the city, then head straight into the shabbier five-
story Fake Market and haggle over its $20 4. __________ twin. Just because it couldn't exist in the
UK doesn't mean there isn't the demand. Far from it.

Back in the UK, at Whitechapel underground station in the east-end of London, a 5. __________ can
pick up any of the biggest movies on cinema release on pirate DVD from a squad of Chinese
economic immigrants who linger there from morning to night. The films are recorded on
camcorders from the back of the cinema. The quality is 6. __________ but, as a spokesman for Fact,
the Federation Against Copyright Theft, says, "People are prepared to put up with poor quality to
be able to view a film exactly when they want to."

Then there's the great British high street. Selling not exactly counterfeits of designer goods (it is
assumed that, to get 7. __________ Intellectual Property law, the chains' solicitors routinely check
that one crucial feature of a dress or bag is altered) but "lookalikes", the fast fashion retailers have
managed to propagate the widely held belief that the cut-price version of a catwalk look is even
cooler than the original.

Copies, whether of movies or Gucci watches, are now far from being the illicit 8. __________ of the
long-distance traveller to Hong Kong or New York's Canal Street. These days, according to the
latest research, we Britons actively love fakes. We are buying them while on holiday in Europe but
also in online auctions and in markets here in the UK. Research shows that we perceive it to be a
victimless crime and that perception isn't changed by the fact that very little seems to be being
done to stop it.

"Even just 10 years ago, if you wanted to get a knock-off, you had to be connected, have a source.
A little bit like scoring ecstasy," says Tim Phillips, author of Knock Off: The Deadly Trade in
Counterfeit Goods. "Now you only have to go outside your front door and go to your local market.
It's not legal, but it has become legitimised."

This is a potentially disastrous turn of events for companies that trade on their aura of exclusivity
and carefully nurtured relationships with Hollywood stars. No wonder that brands such as Louis
Vuitton and Chanel (which, with Burberry, are the most copied) are fighting back on the A-list front.
When Courtney Love was photographed at a party earlier this year wearing a fake Chanel dress,
the fashion house was said to be incensed. In this month's US Harper's Bazaar, Love does penance,
posing with jewellery just covering her nipples over the headline, "I'd rather go naked than wear
fake". Love claims she wore the copycat Chanel "inadvertently". If so, she would be rather more 9.
__________ than the rest of us.

The reason Chanel et al have a problem with forgeries is that there is such a huge demand for
them. More than ever, Britons are buying fake goods, knowing that they are fake – and not giving a
10. __________. We are put off neither by the loss to those brands' businesses nor – apparently – by
any thought of the organised crime that inevitably props up a global trade worth as much as
$200bn each year. And as the standard of those fakes improves, no longer is poor quality such a
big issue for buyers.

While a minority will always prefer to know that they own and carry the real thing, there is a
growing group who will buy both fake and authentic luxury goods. It's a 11. __________ these days
to think that the woman who carries an ersatz Louis Vuitton Monogram or Chloé Paddington bag is
a young, low-income consumer who can't afford authentic goods. According to a new study by the
law firm Davenport Lyons, two thirds of those who buy counterfeit watches, handbags and clothes
also buy genuine designer goods. In demographic terms, there is very little to distinguish the fake-
buyer from the genuine-only buyer.
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And increasingly, we Britons are openly confessing that our Gucci watch or Mulberry bag isn't the
real thing. Researchers say that up to two thirds of us are happy to admit we buy fake goods – an
increase of 20 per cent on last year. As the global trade booms, an even wider range of 12.
__________ items gets shipped across borders, with piracy affecting not just luxury goods but even
everyday items such as toothpaste, toys and batteries.

Is fakery losing its stigma and, particularly in the realms of image and self-presentation, even
becoming a kind of status symbol? And if authenticity has become strictly optional, into which
other realms of culture will that attitude spread?

Another piece of fakery we're only too aware of but tolerate 13. __________ is the art of the
retoucher. If celebrity wrinkles aren't smoothed out in the Botox clinic, they will inevitably be
obliterated by the retoucher's hand. We know about it because Kate Winslet complained that her
thighs had been "slimmed" down for the cover of GQ magazine; because we have the Photoshop
application on our own home computers; because the majority of fashion models appear to have
entirely non-porous skin on their faces; because we don't only buy airbrushed 14. __________ but
also celebrity magazines with paparazzi shots of unretouched stars with mottled thighs and angry
red zits. It's our duty, of course, to pass this information on to impressionable children – although
chances are they've already airbrushed their own pictures for the approval of their fake Facebook
friends.

So we are in a curious position. In many different ways – some subtle, some less so – Britain is
becoming more fake with each passing year. But at the same time we don't like being 15.
__________. Whether it's a knock-off handbag, a newsreader's youthful forehead or a trashy reality
show, we've never been so accepting of fakes, and it's never been easier to falsify. But these days
only the fool won't admit that they're faking it – because it has also never been easier to get
caught out.

If you want to read the complete article: http://www.independent.co.uk/life-

style/fashion/features/fake-britain-the-rise-of-the-imitation-industry-462571.html

CHOOSE THE WORD THAT BEST FIT IN SPACES 1 TO 15.

1. a. cornershop b. flagship c. joint

2. a. either b. neither c. nor
3. a. fence b. railing c. hoarding
4. a. counterfeit b. underhand c. forge
5. a. passer-by b. hiker c. witness
6. a. appaling b. appealing c. astounding
7. a. around b. by c. through
8. a. caprice b. quirk c. perk
9. a. gullible b. believable c. ingenious
10. a. second thought b. damn c. relevance
11. a. misrepresentation b. misunderstanding c. misconception
12. a. spurious b. blue-ribbon c. top-notch
13. a. however b. despite c. none the less
14. a. flicks b. glossies c. tabloids
15. a. duped b. enticed c. harrassed

TRUE OR FALSE?

1. According to the text, the satisfaction obtained when you buy something at a very reduced price
is comparable to the kick you can get out of some drugs.
2. Exclusive clothes brands are being seriously affected by the trading of counterfeit goods.
3. The quality of the forged goods is getting better and better.
4. More than 65% of people in Britain openly admit that they buy fakes.
5. Kate Winslet didn’t like the photo of her legs which appeared on the cover of GQ magazine.
6. The author implies that some young people retouch their photos of themselves before uploading
them on their networking sites.
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F is for Fake: Accept all substitutes?

COMPLETE WITH: reviews, celebrities, winners, software, existence,
information, qualifications, camaraderie, websites, music

1. Fake ......

Countless agencies offer doppelgangers to masquerade as the rich and famous. Whether
they're enlisted as light entertainment at a social event or used as a decoy to distract
awaiting fans while the real thing escapes through the back door, these body-doubles can
earn thousands for simply showing up.

2. Fake ........

Checking comments and star ratings on websites such as Amazon helps us judge products
and services based on the experiences of others. Except that in recent months a string of
businesses have been caught posing as independent customers and posting fake
comments. As of December this year, such behaviour will fall foul of a European directive
banning companies "falsely presenting [themselves] as a consumer", and offenders will
be subject to naming and shaming.

3. Fake .......

Second Life is not a game; there is no points system, no score, no reward. It is a

constructed environment, the sole purpose of which being the " personal enjoyment of its
users" (of which there were 8.9 million at the time of going to press). In this internet-
based virtual world your character or "avatar" can explore, socialise and trade with other
users. With its own currency, the Linden Dollar (fully convertible with the US dollar) users
can buy and sell non-existent land and products.

4. Fake .........

The discrepancy between the volume of phone numbers in our mobiles compared to the
number of "friends" listed on social "notworking" sites such as Facebook is well
documented. The latest crime against friendship is a wave of "friend theft", executed to
artificially boost your own social circle. Pilfering acquaintances from the friend lists of
others is both a rife and socially unacceptable modern phenomenon.

5. Fake ........

Fake Nation, a government-funded report, revealed that most people do not perceive
downloading pirated material as theft. Despite campaigns highlighting the link between
organised crime and pirated material, consumers continue to favour illegal copies, costing
the games industry more than £2bn a year in the UK alone.

6. Fake .........

Surf the web for the latest gossip on celebrities such as Paris Hilton and Pete Doherty and
you may unwittingly expose yourself to identity thieves. Fraudsters have created fake
sites containing spyware, bugs and viruses, which request details from subscribers that
allow hackers to access personal information, including bank details, which is then sold to
criminals.

7. Fake ...........
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With student debt at an all-time high, the temptation to fork out hundreds rather than
thousands of pounds to obtain a first-class degree is stronger than ever. Websites offering
diplomas from GCSEs to doctorates promise certificates barely distinguishable from the
real thing.

8. Fake ........

Joyce Hatto was called a "national treasure" when, in her seventies – and crippled by ill
health – the former concert pianist produced some outstanding interpretations of complex
works. After her death in June 2006, the music industry and media were up in arms when
it was found that many of these "interpretations" were the work of other well-known
pianists.

9. Fake ..........

Wikipedia sees itself as the future of encyclopedias: open to anyone, quickly updated,
consensual, and with accuracy on a par with Encyclopedia Britannica. Not according to
some critics, who have branded it an unrivalled vehicle for the dissemination of
misinformation and responsible for the devaluation of research. Especially when the
Vatican and the CIA are editing their own pages.

10. Fake ...........

Mark Thompson, director-general of the BBC, conceded that the organisation deliberately
deceived viewers by having fake competition winners in a number of its programmes.
Blue Peter presenters were forced to apologise after selecting a child in the studio
audience to call in live on-air, after a technical failure prevented the producers selecting a
genuine victor for a phone-in competition.