The Vergecast Online shopping is full of copycats
102 snips
Aug 5, 2025 
Cassey Ho, a fitness YouTuber and founder of PopFlex Active, shares her experiences battling design theft in the fashion world. She unveils the rise of copycats in online shopping and the emotional toll it takes on creators. Cassey also discusses her journey with innovative designs, highlighting the process behind her unique activewear. The conversation touches on sustainability and the efforts of textile recycling initiatives like Fabscrap, showcasing a path towards a more ethical fashion industry.
AI Snips
Chapters
Transcript
Episode notes
Pirouette Skort Duped Quickly
- Cassie Ho designed the Pirouette Skort in 2021 and predicted fast fashion label Shein would copy it, which happened within three months.
- Over a dozen PopFlex designs have since been copied by Shein and others, illustrating the repetitive problem of knockoffs.
Dupes Copy Everything Deeply
- Dupes copy not just products but marketing and even videos, confusing customers into buying inferior products and blaming the original creator.
- Deeply misleading dupes damage brand reputation and saturate the market, devaluing the uniqueness of original designs.
Unsettling AI Face Swaps
- Cassey found a video of herself with her face swapped for a Caucasian woman's, which felt unsettling and deceptive.
- She warns this AI-driven face swapping is harmful, especially towards women, in various online contexts.