Walmart Goes Viral For Introducing Hermès Birkin Bag Dupe: ‘Not Fronting…Not Stunting’

Walmart is going viral for introducing a dupe of a designer handbag, which has already sold out and inspired an array of reactions online.

The handbag is designed like a luxury Hermès Birkin bag, a status symbol that retails for a minimum of $2,000 to over $2 million, depending on the materials and exclusivity. According to CNN, Most Birkins cost between $26,500 and $399,999.

The new Walmart version, which some shoppers call a “Wirkin,” costs around $78. A dupe is different from a knockoff because it isn’t a counterfeit item, but is instead designed in the same style as a more expensive item. In the case of the Walmart handbag, the shape and hardware are similar, but it doesn’t include Birkin’s signature logo.

Social media helped the bag gain popularity. On December 19, TikTok user @styledbykristi posted a clip about her purchase of the BESTSPR Platinum Lychee Tote. Since then, that clip has racked up more than 8.1 million views.

@styledbykristi Walmart Birkin. Thanks for the recommendation @Jessi My ♬ original sound – StyledByKristi

“It’s real leather, and I paid $80 for it,” the content creator says in the video as she unwraps the Kelly green bag. “She’s so pretty!”

“(For) $80, you can pretend that you got a Birkin,” she continued. “I mean, everyone will probably know it’s not because who the hell has the money to spend on the real Birkin? Not me.”

Former “Real Housewives of New York” star Bethenny Frankel added to the conversation, saying the controversy is “fascinating.”

“A person who couldn’t afford a Birkin could have gone to Chinatown or bought a bag on the gate, but then they would seem fraudulent,” Frankel said in a TikTok posted on December 28. “People would call them out.”

She continued, “Walmart has given them entry. It’s a similar shape. This one is more functional. And you are allowed to do this. You’re not fronting, and you’re not stunting.”

Frankel said the only people upset about the bag’s existence are those who obsess over appearances.

“The intellectual property issue is another story we’ll get into, but this is basically the mob storming the castle saying, ‘We’re here too, b****, deal with it. You guys flaunted it and made it seem like we never get to be part of this, and now we get to be part of this fair and square,’” she said. “And the people that are going to be pissed off about are a**holes because they are not interesting people and flexing a bag is the most interesting thing about them.”