When asked on her Instagram account, May Berthelot is quick to respond.
The young woman takes a look at the messages of her subscribers as soon as she can, even if time is a luxury that she has less and less of in recent months.
A shame for this 32-year-old Frenchwoman who has precisely dedicated her life to luxury.
To those who come across her profile on social networks, May Berthelot appears as an influencer specializing in designer pieces, their maintenance and their resale, at the head of a community of more than 164,000 subscribers on Instagram.
It is also the new anti-counterfeit asset of the most powerful second-hand clothing sales platform in France, Vinted.
To discover
The 3/4 Beckhams, a dream family?
In 2022, the Lithuanian company acquired the expertise of this multi-hatted lawyer to structure and lead its anti-scam division.
It must be said that with the explosion of the second-hand market, and with it, the fake which threatens more and more... In 2018 already, within the framework of an Ifop survey carried out for the Union of Manufacturers ( Unifab), 47% of respondents identified ad sites between individuals as the destination where the most counterfeits circulate.
This is pushing platforms to recruit more and more authenticators and other specialists, like May Berthelot.
Its hybrid profile, of a new kind, navigates between current regulations and leather goods restoration tutorials.
By taking place at the crossroads of
The taste of beauty
Precocious, she obtained her baccalaureate at the age of 16.
May Berthelot then entered law school in Paris.
In reality, she dreams of studying art history and teaching.
His cravings will be satisfied later.
"That's the approach I've decided to take on social media now," she comments.
The young girl still gets her first year, before deserting the amphitheatres.
May Berthelot, who has always seen her mother carry bags from major luxury brands, has a taste for beauty.
Under the advice of a friend, she submits a CV to the Louis Vuitton boutique, avenue Montaigne.
She spent two months there, sharpening her eye and opening her ears wide.
She notices in particular that the sales advisers are in high demand by customers who want to be reassured about the
authenticity of their pieces.
"That's where it all began."
Back on the benches of the university, the student lays the foundations of a first informal guide, which aims to help consumers detect counterfeits.
Barely 20, she sometimes skips school to join a group of retired women passionate about leather goods who frequent the Drouot auction house in Paris.
“Their average age was 84, it was very funny.
I spent two incredible years with them.
And I learned a lot”.
May Berthelot also buys.
And not just at the Hotel Drouot.
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In images, in pictures
See the slideshow09 photos
See the slideshow09 photos
early adopt
We are then at the dawn of the 2010s and Leboncoin, launched in France in 2006, is on the way to overtaking Ebay in the top 15 of the most visited sites in the country.
May Berthelot alternates between the two platforms to hunt for designer pieces.
An approach still rare at the time, which made her what the “
tech
” language calls a “pioneer” (
early adopter
).
By dint of experimenting with the uses and workings of all these resale sites still in development, she has become an expert.
To encourage his enterprising nature, his parents granted him a budget of 1500 euros.
She uses them in a first investment: “I bought a suitcase on Ebay Japan, I brought it to Paris, retyped it, then put it back on sale.
She was acquired in New York and I
The project took shape in 2010, when May Berthelot launched her first advice site aimed at detecting counterfeits, called “
Finally true
”.
At the same time, she continued her studies, oriented herself towards the law of digital activities and intellectual property, "masters of
geeks
, not very popular at the time.
In 2012, during her second year, she submitted her CV this time to VideDressing, a resale site dedicated to fashion launched in 2009. The head office is located in a small apartment in the 9th arrondissement of Paris, and the legal department is then limited to one person.
The team already knows it, it uses its online guide.
Two years later, at the age of 23, she became the platform's legal and anti-counterfeiting director.
She will only leave her in 2022, when Vinted comes knocking on her door.
Influencer
Instagram plays a predominant role in her career.
At first, his account “is not at all focused on expertise”.
Launched in 2014, it is first and foremost a showcase for her minimalist outfits,
quiet luxury
style , always embellished with a luxury accessory.
She won paid partnerships with brands.
Then the switch operates.
“At the beginning of 2019, I felt ready to share my knowledge,” recalls May Berthelot.
She began to distill her best practices for keeping pieces or buying second-hand.
She films the maintenance of a pair of Louis Vuitton sneakers or the restoration of a Chanel Timeless bag.
Passionate, she trained with a shoemaker to perfect her tutorials.
During the first confinement, the number of its subscribers exploded.
The French take advantage of the time spent at home to empty their cupboards and take a liking to the second tomorrow.
The wave of handmade and the awareness of the environmental impact of the fashion industry are also increasing interest in the conservation and restoration of wardrobe items.
May Berthelot's explanatory content is finding its audience more than ever.
And listening grows.
“Luxury has become a safe haven,” analyzes Dinah Sultan, trend expert at Peclers.
May Berthelot is one of those new influencers who speak not from a style perspective, but from an investment perspective.
Read alsoThe Fake Birkin Slayer, this mysterious vigilante who flushes out fake Hermès bags on Instagram
Education and benevolence
It's because, from experience, May Berthelot knows the two main obstacles to buying second-hand.
Namely: the condition of the parts and the fear of counterfeiting.
She also knows that the illicit market is growing on social networks.
According to a study carried out for the Reuters agency, 20,280 counterfeiters were active on Instagram in October 2021. they are wary of their secrets falling into the wrong hands - she likes to play good friends from whom you can ask advice off.
The influencer defends an educational approach, both rigorous and benevolent:
“Many people speak out without legitimacy on counterfeiting topics, or, like The Fake Birkin Slayer, do so by practicing humiliation.
I think that's dangerous, that's not how you teach people what's wrong with their buying behavior."
Its involvement in the fight against counterfeiting is not only of interest to brands and its subscribers.
The young woman is a long-time collaborator of Unifab, an association, training organization and lobby that defends intellectual property.
Its president, Delphine Sarfati, sees in it "an example of influence".
“She brings us a new perspective, our exchanges allow us to better understand how to address consumers”.
Her involvement led her to participate in actions as a volunteer for Unifab, but also to write for the fashion magazine
Silhouette
or to intervene in round tables and other legal meetings to preach responsible consumption.
A challenge named Vinted
The circulation of counterfeit coins is precisely one of Vinted's problems.
When one searches for publications on the subject on the forum of the platform, three thousand messages from members emerge, referenced over the last five months alone.
With more than 80 million users listed at the end of 2022 according to the online resale site, the moderation of ads and the management of disputes are major issues.
The Lithuanian company does not communicate on the subject.
She will simply confide that the arrival of May Berthelot as director of the fight against counterfeiting marks "the intention to strengthen [our] expertise in this area".
The task is great.
To give an idea of this, the 30-year-old paints a picture of her field of action, divided into three poles, each with a dedicated team: the fight against counterfeiting (which includes user policy, functionalities, algorithms), quality (which involves training and knowledge) and external relations (with brands, rights holders, associations).
Her employer asks her to conceal all strategic details, so the young woman will not say more about her position.
But one thing is certain, May Berthelot is hard at work to accomplish her mission, which she defines as follows: “Encourage people to consume sensibly”.
