How things count as the same: counterfeits, vintage and the social construction of value in fashion

This thesis examines how fashion objects come to count as authentic, original or the same despite differences in origin, age and material history. Using Seligman and Weller's concepts of memory, mimesis and metaphor, it compares two cases: counterfeit Louis Vuitton bags and vintage T-shirts. The study combines theoretical analysis with qualitative examination of online communities, resale platforms, specialist websites, journalism and legal and corporate materials. The comparison shows that authenticity is not an inherent property of an object but an organized relationship among material evidence, history, expertise and authority. Louis Vuitton stabilizes authenticity through corporate, retail and legal infrastructure, while the vintage market relies on distributed knowledge among collectors, dealers and online communities. In both cases, memory depends on mimetic practices of repetition and comparison, while metaphor allows objects to stand for heritage, status, cultural participation or access to the past. The thesis argues that real and fake are not simple material opposites: their distinction is produced through infrastructures with unequal power to decide which continuities and resemblances count.