In the most recent issue of Complex, there's a whole story about the black sheep of the sneaker world: sneakerheads who collect and prefer counterfeit sneakers to their legitimate counterparts. I KNOW, RIGHT, WHAT IN THE ACTUAL FUCK? Strangely enough, there's a growing segment of the sneaker community that is disgusted with the hype cycle and reseller's mentality that they've effectively broken off into their own little world that honors fake garbage.
Matt (no last name) has 35 sneakers and proudly claims only 10 are real, but like other sneaker-obsessed guys, hates when fakes are passed off as authentic. He's so committed to the cause that he goes on eBay and reports the listings that do just that. Listen, if you're going to sell or wear replicas, you have to admit it. There's a code to this and it's all about integrity.
Unfortunately, even copping replicas is a full-on war zone. Websites are sketchy and unreliable, and there's no accountability since it's technically illegal to sell them in the fucking first place. It's a total oxymoron and completely ironic to want authenticity in the replica sneaker game, but I respect it. With how difficult it is to actually get the most popular sneakers today, why not spring for extremely good knock-offs? It makes (sorta, kinda) logical sense, especially considering just how good fakes are getting these days. Honestly, they're borderline indistinguishable.
I get it, maybe you're just hardwired against something like this, but you should still read over the full piece because the world of fake sneaker collectors is as fascinating as it is completely bizarre.
[Photo by Liz Barclay for Complex]
