Browsing Amazon Haul, the online shopping giant’s new $20-and-under bargain bin section, I immediately recognize not just a product, but a specific image. The photo is on a listing for “Timeless Black Dress for Both Casual and Formal Gatherings,” and it is stolen.
The image actually belongs to a New York-based independent brand called Mirror Palais, which sold the “Daisy Dress” for $545 a few years ago. Elevated by social media algorithms and its celebrity fans, Mirror Palais’ images have traveled from the brand’s website, to tweets, to Pinterest mood boards, and finally, to the discount section of the world’s largest online retailer, where it is — obviously — not for sale. On Amazon, it’s listed for $7.49. When I add it to my cart, I realize it’s even cheaper: inexplicably and improbably, it is an additional 65 percent off.
This one image of a black mini dress does not just appear on random listings on Amazon Haul — you can find it on Walmart and AliExpress as well as smaller sites with names like Mermaid Way and VMzona — all selling dupes (short for duplicates) of the original Mirror Palais dress. I even find a separate listing on Amazon, in the typically but not unbelievably…