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When New York influencer Wisdom Kaye spent $18,000 on purchases from Italian fashion brand Miu Miu, he didn’t expect some of the items to fall apart right before his eyes, CNN reports.

In viral TikTok videos shared with his 13 million followers, Kaye shows off his new haul. In one clip, he says, “I’m a big fan of Miu Miu,” before demonstrating how a gold button on a denim vest fell off immediately after he unpacked it. “I just opened it normally,” he says. He also shows a brown sweater with a broken silver zipper, adding, “I’ve never bought so many things that fall apart at home instantly. This is genuinely terrible.”

Three days later, Kaye posted another video. Miu Miu had offered him a refund or replacement; he chose the latter. However, the new vest’s button fell off again. “Unbelievable!” he exclaimed.

He’s not alone. In October, Tiffany Kim shared an Instagram video showing a gray fleece jacket by Miu Miu with a popped-out drawstring, purchased only a month earlier. She refused to pay for repairs: “I paid $2,000 and wore it twice,” she wrote.

In November, Seattle designer Elena Qiu revealed that the heel of her $1,000 Maison Margiela leather boots was hollow plastic instead of solid leather, leaving her disappointed.

These viral videos sparked outrage online, with many questioning the value of luxury fashion and accusing brands of prioritizing trends and branding over craftsmanship. “Expensive doesn’t mean luxury if the quality isn’t there!” wrote one TikTok user.

A spokesperson for Prada Group, which owns Miu Miu, told CNN that these were “isolated incidents” and “not indicative of the brand’s overall quality.” Miu Miu notes its global return rate is just 0.2–0.3%.

Experts, however, argue the problem is deeper. Journalist Dana Thomas, author of Deluxe: How Luxury Lost Its Luster, observed declining quality in luxury fashion as far back as the 2000s. “Season after season, quality dropped: buttons fell off, colors faded,” she recalls.

Leather expert Tanner Lederstein and bespoke shoemaker Caroline Groves confirm that many luxury brands cut costs, using plastic heels and mixed fabrics instead of natural materials, often outsourcing production to low-cost countries.

Today, the industry’s focus on fast turnover of collections and content affects product durability. Experts warn that luxury is losing its emphasis on craftsmanship and exclusivity in favor of profit and mass production.

Social media, however, gives consumers a voice. “If your products fall apart in front of people, no marketing can convince them it’s luxury,” Lederstein notes. Experts see this as an opportunity for new brands offering high-quality items at fair prices.

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