How AI Is Busting Bogus Birkins

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In Los Angeles, the trend for Hypebeast culture is particularly evident outside the sneaker store Coolkicks on Melrose Avenue, where lines of collectors often spill out onto the street. These enthusiasts don’t just come to purchase shoes, but also to sell them. Adeel Shams, one of the co-founders of Coolkicks, explains that they can receive anywhere from 200 to 600 pairs of shoes daily at their Melrose location. Coolkicks also operates stores at The Grove and in Las Vegas, and hosts live online shopping events that consistently attract audiences in the six figures.

As a discerning gamer who’s also into fashion, I always ensure that every pair of sneakers I buy from Coolkicks are authenticated first. It’s crucial because footwear, just like luxury handbags, watches, fragrances, and designer items from brands like Nike, Off-White, Chanel, Hermès, Louis Vuitton, Rolex, Patek Philippe, and countless others, is a product category highly susceptible to counterfeiting. Authenticating items before purchase isn’t just important for the brands, but also for retailers, resellers, and consumers like me. London-based Corsearch estimates that by 2030, the economic impact of counterfeit goods could surge to an staggering $1.79 trillion. So, verifying authenticity is a step I never skip.

To combat an influx of potential counterfeits, brands, dealers, and vendors are progressively relying on AI-powered authentication services for consumer goods. Shams collaborates with Entrupy, a company based in New York that uses advanced technology to verify products. Their method involves a specialized light-box setup for capturing images of the product from multiple angles, which are then scrutinized by AI to identify crucial details. For instance, aspects like the quality of leather, stitching pattern, or insoles’ fabric are examined under a microscope during a process that can take between 10 and 30 minutes per item. (This process is faster than a human authenticator who could only handle one piece at a time.) If Entrupy’s system cannot guarantee the sneakers’ authenticity, it doesn’t claim they’re fakes; instead, it marks them as “unidentified.” Approximately 6% of the shoes analyzed by Coolkicks are rejected in this manner.

Vidyuth Srinivasan, CEO and co-founder of Entrupy, shares that since 2014, he and his associates have been investigating the application of AI in authenticating luxury goods. He muses, “Why not create a system where we take pictures of both genuine and counterfeit items, train it to identify the discrepancies, and then make this tool available online?” The images would be sent to the cloud for processing, where an algorithm would make the final call. “Now, our company is widely acknowledged as a benchmark of reliability in the industry by brands, social media platforms, resellers, pawn shops, and even some government entities,” he notes.

Srinivasan additionally relies on internal professionals to infuse a personal touch into the system. In the unlikely event Entrupy makes an error, such as a false positive, he states his company stands by its claims and purchases the misidentified item. He explains that this action not only compensates them but also removes the counterfeit from circulation, which is their primary goal. Shams mentions he’s never needed to use this policy because Entrupy has never been incorrect about their assessments for him.

Based in Texas, Authentix operates with over 600 employees and offices spread across four continents. This company collaborates with numerous brands and marketplaces that deal in luxury goods spanning various product categories. One of its key functions is using advanced algorithms to constantly scan millions of websites for counterfeit listings each month. As explained by Tim Driscoll, their chief technology officer, “Our main client is the brand owner, and with our AI-enhanced anti-counterfeiting tools, we’re continuously monitoring and inspecting around half a million products every month.” Authentix also partners with platforms such as Meta, TikTok, and Amazon to detect counterfeit goods. Across the 300 brands and logos they support, Authentix claims a 90% success rate in both identifying counterfeits and having them taken down.

As a passionate enthusiast, I’d like to share my excitement about Alt Vault, a platform that initially focused on luxury watches but has now broadened its horizons to encompass handbags, sneakers, fragrances, and more. This web-based service prides itself on being accessible for both buyers and sellers, ensuring a seamless experience for all.

As a consumer, you can trust it to verify the authenticity of your purchases. For resellers, it offers an opportunity to upload their products along with an authentication report we generate specifically for them. This is crucial in addressing the pervasive issue of counterfeits within the secondary market. With our advanced technology that identifies products at a microscopic level, we’ve been successful in protecting brands, retailers, resellers, and ultimately, the end consumer.

As a devoted follower, I can’t help but share one of Srinivasan’s captivating anecdotes: A chain of six Chicago pawn shops, all his loyal clients, experienced an intriguing incident one afternoon. “We had the unique opportunity to observe a person attempting to sell a high-end handbag at various locations,” he recalls. “Each place they visited declined their offer after utilizing our services, and eventually, the seller grew weary and moved on.

What Srinivasan and others posit about combating counterfeits is indeed validated by this statement. In his own words, “Complete elimination of counterfeiting is not achievable.” However, he emphasizes that the most we can strive for is to serve as a deterrent instead.

You can find this article in our January 3rd edition of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. Subscribe now for more updates!

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2025-01-07 21:26