In previous eras of internet culture, mockery of the rich and famous was usually relegated to far-left forums. But as 2025 begins, ridiculing the rich appears to have gone mainstream.

Fashionistas who’ve long lusted after Hermès exclusive and ultra-expensive Birkin handbag got a pre-holiday treat thanks to Walmart.com. It offered a reasonably close Birkin facsimile bag – dubbed a “Wirkin” on social media for the “working class Birkin” or “Walmart Birkin” – priced around $100, compared to the $10,000 and up for the real thing.

Nicknaming it the “Wirkin” bag – a portmanteau of “Walmart” and “Birkin” that also evokes “working class” – TikTok users have championed the bag as a symbol of working- and middle-class solidarity. Sociologists use the concept of “ symbolic interactionism ” to describe how people deploy symbols to understand and communicate social realities.

Budget-conscious buyers looking for luxury alternatives have flocked to Walmart’s Birkin bag look-alike, nicknamed the “Wirkin.”

Last week we told you about the crazy hype surrounding the “Wirkin” bag, Walmart’s less expensive version of the Birkin, the classic Hermès tote that has been beloved by the rich and famous for decades.

The world biggest retailer Walmart launched handbags that look similar to Hermes. While unrelated to the Birkin - TikTok has fallen in love with the $78 product.

An inexpensive knockoff of the Birkin bag, an exclusive, extremely sought-after leather handbag by luxury brand Hermès that can sell for more than $400,000 US has launched a rousing debate online about fashion accessibility and copycat ethics.