Dsquared2 pants, the popular Canada Goose winter coat with a fur collar, or "just" a Stone Island cap. These items are very popular among young people. This is why more and more of these clothes are being counterfeited. The counterfeit clothing trade is now a billion-dollar industry. On Instagram, we see accounts selling fake clothing from brands like Louis Vuitton, Canada Goose, Balenciaga, Woolrich , and Stone Island . These fake designer clothes are also readily available on Marktplaats, Facebook, Aliexpress, or the black market. Wearing and selling counterfeit clothing is not only illegal but also dangerous. The materials used in counterfeit clothing often do not meet government requirements. Even more frightening: for someone in extreme cold, the difference between a real and a fake Canada Goose jacket can mean the difference between life and death. The factories that make these clothes are getting better and better at recreating them. It's becoming increasingly difficult to distinguish the counterfeit clothing from genuine designer clothes. In this article, you'll learn how to recognize counterfeit designer clothes!
CERTILOGO
Authentic products are better for us: for you as a consumer, for us as a company, but also for the taxpayer and even for the environment! This is why CERTILOGO was founded. This organization is committed to ensuring that everyone has the opportunity to buy authentic clothing. The website CERTILOGO.com offers the option to check brand-name clothing. Inside the garments of brands like Stone Island, Nobis, CP Company , and Colmar, you'll find a special label: the CERTILOGO label. You can scan this label or enter the code manually on the website. This allows you to trace whether the garment is an original and in which country it was sold. These days, some counterfeit garments also have a kind of CERTILOGO inside. However, if you enter this code on the website, you'll see that it's not an original item. By checking the code inside a garment, you can be 100% sure that you've purchased an authentic product!
Hologram
Not all major clothing brands work with CERTILOGO. Other well-known brands approach this differently. For example, every Canada Goose product since 2017 includes some form of authenticity proof: Canada Goose incorporates a polar bear into the hologram on the inside of its jackets, with elements visible from a certain angle. Now, some manufacturers of counterfeit clothing are so advanced that they can even recreate this. So pay close attention to the jacket's finish. The brand Moose Knuckles also uses a kind of hologram on the inside. A code can be found at the bottom of the hologram. This code can be checked on the Moose Knuckles website. This manufacturer uses a similar method to CERTILOGO. If the website doesn't show that the jacket is an original, it's a fake!
The finishing
As brand-name clothing is increasingly being copied, it's becoming increasingly difficult to check for yourself whether it's fake or genuine. However, you can sometimes recognize fake clothing simply by looking at the clothing and finish. So pay close attention to the following:
- Price: First of all, the price of a garment often speaks volumes. A Gucci belt that normally costs €400 is sometimes offered for €75, which is too good to be true. The belt is a fake. A Canada Goose jacket with a retail price of €950 will never be on sale or offered for less. Canada Goose jackets offered for much less are guaranteed to be counterfeit.
- The material: Genuine brand-name clothing is generally made of the finest materials. So feel the clothes you buy yourself. This way, you can check the quality of the product yourself.
- Stitching and badges: It's not obvious at a glance, but if you look closely, you can also identify fake clothing by the stitching and badges. Original brand-name clothing is (almost) always neatly finished. Often, the inside of the garments is overlooked, but the stitching on the inside of the clothing can often reveal a lot. So pay close attention to this!
- Zippers and buttons: As mentioned earlier, major clothing brands opt for high-quality materials. This also applies to zippers and buttons. In counterfeit brand-name clothing, the zippers and buttons are often made of cheaper materials, which you'll notice if you pay close attention.
- Location: If you want to be sure you're buying original clothing, it's best to buy it from an official retailer like Tip de Bruin. This way, you can be sure you're buying and wearing an original piece!
