If you type the words “togo sofa” into Google, chances are slim that your first result will be a link to an original Michel Ducaroy design sold by Ligne Roset. Instead, you may be directed to Wayfair, which sells a look-alike “Suede Armless Beanbag Chair” for around $700, about $3,000 less than the original’s price tag; an e-tailer hawking a “Ducaroy Portside 2 Seater Sofa” for around $1,900; or even an article from a reputable news outlet with the headline “The 11 Best Togo Sofa Replicas and Alternatives.” Do the same for the iconic Emeco Navy chair, a Herman Miller Eames lounger, or dozens of other classic designs and you’ll be greeted with similar results.
“Copycats are everywhere,” says John Edelman, president and CEO of furniture retailer Heller and former CEO of Design Within Reach. “They’re mainstream. They’re in major retailers, in malls across America, in freestanding stores.”
They’re also all over social media platforms like TikTok, where the term “furniture dupes” has more than 5 billion views and which highlights videos that advise shoppers on where to find cheaper versions of mass-market items like Pottery Barn dressers and West Elm nightstands, as well as more design-forward wares like Eny Lee Parker lighting and Saarinen Tulip tables.
Knockoffs are certainly not a new phenomenon (Herman Miller launched a “Beware of Imitations” campaign as early as 1957). But as the furniture industry has been revolutionized by the onset of directto-consumer (DTC) brands that pull design elements from legendary pieces, as well as by
