Counterfeit display sparks interest at Micam
14/02/2018
The exhibition, which is entitled “Questa non è una sòla – Scarpe tra fake e rarità” (When is a shoe not a shoe: Fakes and rarities), has been set up with the help of the Museo del Vero e del Falso (Museum of Real and Fake), a Campania-based group which aims to safeguard Italian manufacturing and highlight counterfeiting.
It focuses on the history of footwear in the twentieth century and displays examples of original footwear as well as fake products that have been illegally produced and distributed in the Italian market.
On the first two days of Micam, the display was accompanied by a dramatic performance by Italian actress Tiziana Di Masi, who demonstrated to the audience that the consumers are responsible for allowing counterfeit shoes to prosper by purchasing them instead of genuine products.
Consumers must change the way they choose which footwear products to buy, the exhibition urged, making sure to read the label and to understand how much a pair of shoes really costs, where they come from and how they have been made.
The exhibition also offered information about the size of the counterfeit market in Italy, explaining that it was worth €6.9 billion in 2016, according to figures from the Italian Ministry of Economic Development.
Counterfeit clothing and accessories worth €2.2 billion was seized in 2016, making it the most common counterfeit product category. This included footwear worth €13.4 million, 6.7% higher in value than in 2008.
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