As a politically engaged first-generation immigrant, I created this installation as my Parsons Challenge for my college application portfolio. Using counterfeit Louis Vuitton purses as my medium, I drew an analogy between the inauthenticity of luxury knockoffs and the facades of American governance — both wielding reputation as a tool of manipulation. The hand-crafted purses featured custom stamp designs addressing social issues ranging from climate change and gun policy to systemic poverty and racial injustice, rendered in deliberately innocent-looking imagery to mirror the deceptive nature of institutional power.