Designer Imposters

(NEW YORK) Louis Vuitton is putting its money where its mouth is. The French luxury goods brand--a crusader against counterfeit fashion merchandise--has partnered with the Estée Lauder Cos. to provide funding to students in the Marketing Society of New York University's Stern School of Business who enroll in in the International AntiCounterfeiting Coalition's College Initiative. Approximately 80 percent of counterfeit fashion goods entering the U.S. pass through Canal Street, and on April 10, the society will hold a "Knowledge is Change" event at Gould Plaza at 44 West Fourth Street to raise awareness. They will pass out buttons, T-shirts, brochures, and specially-created canvas bags to support their campaign. At the event, students will play a "guess the fake" game, explore the crime network that fuels counterfeit merch and learn tools for thwarting counterfeiting.

"College students are brand owners' first and best opportunities to educate consumers on the unseen universal dangers of buying counterfeit products," said John C. Cassillo, Louis Vuitton North America's anti-counterfeiting manager. "NYU Stern's Marketing Society members are part of a generation that truly understands the meaning of 'think global, act local.' I'm confident they will find creative ways to expose the ugly realty of the counterfeit trade to their fellow students and campus community."