For Counterfeiters, New York Fashion Week Is a Product Launch Too
Protect the Design
Ahead of New York Fashion Week, Axencis says the gap between a runway look and its first counterfeit is now days, not seasons.
By the time a brand notices the fakes, the counterfeiter has already had the best selling window. The brands that win treat Fashion Week as an enforcement event, not just a marketing one.”
LONDON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM, August 12, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- The most valuable window in fashion isn't the runway show - it's the days just after it, when a design is public but the real product isn't in stores yet. Ahead of New York Fashion Week and the US fall show season, brand-protection firm Axencis is warning that counterfeiters have learned to own that window: they list copies of new designs within days, while the brand is still planning its own launch, and most brands only start enforcing once the fakes are already selling.— Chris Stavrou, Senior Investigator, Axencis
Counterfeiting is a $467 billion global trade, with clothing, footwear and accessories among the most-targeted categories (OECD and EUIPO, 2025). Fashion's most-photographed moment is also its most-copied: runway images circulate instantly, and unauthorized versions follow across marketplaces and social platforms before a collection reaches stores.
"By the time a brand notices the fakes, the counterfeiter has already had the best selling window," said Chris Stavrou, Senior Investigator at Axencis. "The brands that win treat Fashion Week as an enforcement event, not just a marketing one - monitoring and ready to act from the moment the looks go public."
Axencis argues that the solution lies in timing: monitoring should be in place before the show, rather than after, and there should be a way to act quickly once infringements appear. This means human-verified takedowns for listings and escalation through Schedule A / TRO court action for sellers who keep coming back.
Axencis coordinates enforcement for brand owners across trademark, copyright and platform channels, with human-verified takedowns and legal escalation.
About Axencis
Axencis is a brand protection and IP enforcement company specializing in human-verified takedowns, legal enforcement through Schedule A cases, and financial recovery from counterfeit operations. It serves brands across fashion, automotive, consumer electronics, and licensed merchandise.
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