Parents scammed in fake ‘Paris Kids Fashion Week’

A Chinese company has come under fire for orchestrating an elaborate scam involving fake children’s fashion shows, falsely branded as Paris Kids Fashion Week. Since 2020, this firm has misled hundreds of families by claiming affiliation with the prestigious Paris Fashion Week, while using images of iconic landmarks like the Louvre and invoking the names of luxury houses such as Dior and Gucci to appear legitimate.According to The South China Morning Post, the company charged parents 6,000 yuan (around ₹71,000) per child to participate in these runway shows. In some cases, families paid even more for costumes, reportedly upwards of 10,000 yuan (over ₹1.20 lakh). Many of the outfits were later revealed to be counterfeit. Events were hosted in cities like Shanghai, Paris, and Toronto, and the company collected an estimated 367,000 yuan (over ₹44 lakh) in registration fees from unsuspecting parents.The scam was finally exposed after Gucci’s legal team filed a complaint in 2023. The Shanghai Market Regulatory Bureau launched an investigation, confirming the fraudulent activities. The company had been using fake logos like Gucc100 and Gucc101, misusing trademarks and misleading customers. As a result, the business has now been fined 600,000 yuan (approximately ₹71 lakh).

During the probe, a company staff member admitted that the children’s costumes - many of them fake designer replicas, were sourced online.

While the owner, identified as Huang, claimed the clothes were only used for photo shoots and not sold, authorities still deemed this a serious case of trademark infringement.Shockingly, this wasn’t the first time the company had been fined. Despite previous penalties, it continued operating with impunity. Its social media presence remains intact, with pages on Instagram and Facebook still live, although the last posts date back to 2023 and show minimal engagement.

Chinese social media users reacted strongly to the revelations. “Such phenomena are quite common these days,” one user commented, pointing out how many extracurricular training centres prey on parents’ aspirations. Another noted, “The company was exploiting the desperate need of parents to make their kids successful and famous.”The case has sparked wider conversations around parental pressure, counterfeit culture, and the lack of regulation in talent showcases for children.