Fashion’s authenticity crisis: How to spot a vintage luxury fake

As resale platforms fuel fashion’s latest boom and vintage garments gain cultural cachet, the market for second-hand designer clothing has never been more alluring, or more precarious. Amid the flood of archival Gucci, Hedi Slimane Saint Laurent, and Y2K Prada populating digital storefronts and curated boutiques, there is a shadowy undercurrent: the sophisticated fake.

In a moment where authenticity is currency, the ability to discern genuine craftsmanship from counterfeited illusion is no longer a niche skill, it's a professional imperative.

"With everyone able to sell online, not every piece has passed through a scrutinising eye," says Josh Hembry, COO of vintage retailer Messina Hembry, a site that trades heavily in sought-after archival fashion. "That’s why it’s vital that buyers, and even seasoned stylists, know how to spot the tells."

Messina Hembry’s team, which routinely sifts through piles of vintage stock, offers six pragmatic tips that underscore how subtle — and deliberate — the signs of a counterfeit can be.

First: feel before you buy

Luxury is tactile. The fabric, especially in older pieces, is often the first tell. Genuine designer garments are constructed from premium materials that wear well over time, cashmeres that don’t pill, silks that don’t snag, cottons that hold their shape. By contrast, fakes often favour synthetic blends that feel off to the touch and lack weight or texture. Leather, a favourite target for counterfeiters, should feel supple and unevenly grained, not plasticky and uniform.

The best way to assess fabric quality? Handle vintage. Go to physical resale shops and touch real pieces from the '80s and '90s. Learn the hand of a real Margiela wool or a Chloé crepe. Online? Ask for a close-up of the textile, and trust your instincts if something looks too shiny, thin, or structured.

Stitching and structure: The devil in the details

You don’t need a tailor’s eye to spot poor construction. Inconsistencies in stitching, especially around labels, pockets, and hemlines, are a dead giveaway. Look for loose threads, mismatched thread colour, or unusually bulky seams. High-end garments are finished cleanly. Labels are often sewn in invisibly; if you flip one over and find messy threads or excess glue, move on.

Fastenings too, are revealing. Branded zips, often YKK or RiRi, should glide smoothly and feel weighty. Buttons may carry discreet engravings, and even interior linings should feel considered, not like an afterthought.

Logos lie, but subtly

Logos can be deceiving. While counterfeiters have moved beyond the cartoonishly bad spellings of the early 2000s, their mistakes now lie in placement and precision. Slight off-centering, fuzzy embroidery, or misaligned patterns may be all that separates a real Dior Saddle Bag from a convincing fake.

Always compare details, logo spacing, font weight, label stitching, against images from the brand’s own archive or trusted stockists. Genuine sellers expect these questions; evasiveness should be your first red flag.

The invisible signature: care labels

Ironically, one of the most telling signs of a fake may be a tiny, overlooked patch of polyester: the care label. Brands have become meticulous in standardising this text block, which often contains not only washing instructions but also country of origin, fabric content, and a product code. Fakes may feature spelling errors, misaligned text, or missing fields altogether. If the label is missing entirely, ask why.

It’s worth noting that some vintage pieces, specially from before the 1980s, may lack modern care labels. But for anything purporting to be recent designer stock, a clean, informative tag is essential.

Sizing should make sense

Inconsistencies in sizing are another warning sign. High-end brands tend to stick to regional size standards and maintain proportional cutting. If a piece marked as EU38 fits like a UK10 in the body but a UK14 in the arms, something is off. It's also wise to cross-reference size tags against what the brand was using in that specific era: tags evolve, but not arbitrarily.

Why this matters now

The risk of fakes isn’t just about personal regret, it’s a reputational issue for professionals operating in fashion’s new secondary economy. Stylists pulling for shoots, buyers sourcing for clients, even brand archivists — all are increasingly active in resale ecosystems where authentication protocols vary wildly.

With luxury resale predicted to become a 50 billion dollar market globally by 2028, the infiltration of fakes isn’t a side issue. It’s central to the sector’s credibility. If fashion is to present resale as a pillar of circular sustainability, it must address the authenticity crisis with rigour.

Digital Product Passports, mandatory under the EU’s Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation by 2026, may eventually serve as a technological shield. But until then, the responsibility lies with the buyer, the curator, the critic.

After all, the counterfeit problem isn’t just about fooling the masses. It’s about undermining the very essence of fashion: craft, heritage, and the idea that some things, well made, well worn, are worth preserving.