Fakes are not new in the fashion world, but the problem has assumed epidemic proportions in the past couple of years.
Designers have been devising ways and means to tackle the problem.
Many of them have started embedding microchips in products like handbags and blouses.
Trade in counterfeit goods has reached US $450 billion globally and worldwide production of fakes has jumped 1,700 percent since 1993.
In wake of the problem, Italy has lost more than 40,000 jobs in the past decade.
The designers are now facing the problem of better and competitive fakes.
Fighting the battle seriously, the authorities are pursuing criminal charges against counterfeit producers, using customs to monitor illegal shipments, and raiding producers and sellers of fake goods.
