IDENTIFY AND AUTHENTICATE SUPREME
SUPREME AUTHENTICATE & IDENTIFY
Supreme has been one of the hottest and most widely faked brands of the last 20 years. This guide will show you how to spot fake Supreme as well as identify your exact Supreme piece. Most guides will tell you general rules to authenticate Supreme. At TRUSS, we show you how to find and reference authentic versions of your exact Supreme item. This is by far the most effective way to authenticate any garment for beginners. We are not going to reinvent the wheel with this guide. Highsnobiety has a great guide you can use to spot fake Supreme in a general sense here.
Due to the fact that many different versions of tags, stitching and box logos have been used over the years. By having an authentic reference of the exact item in question, you can be sure to spot fakes. To be 100% sure on the authenticity of any Supreme item, we would recommend using a service like LegitGrails who specialise in Supreme authentication.
Whilst having the item in hand and feeling its quality is a quick way to tell if a Supreme item is fake vs real, this guide should help you when shopping online and before having an item in hand is even a possibility. Fair warning. Some fake Supreme is very good.
WHAT IS THE RN101837 SUPREME PRODUCT CODE?
Many Supreme garments are made in Canada & the USA. They have a RN101837 Number. We see this consistently searched for and used to try to identify Supreme items.
RN 101837 is the code given to Supreme as required by US law for companies that produce textiles. These Supreme serial codes, unfortunately, do not help to identify the Supreme item.
1. RESOURCES FOR SUPREME AUTHENTICATION
Before even thinking about authenticating Supreme, you should first find references for the exact item in question. There are a few ways to do this and in doing so, the year and season of release can also be found. After finding this information - TRUSS will show you how to use a 1-to-1 reference from pre-authenticated sources.
The first point of call is to look on this useful resource called the 'Supreme Archive' on tumblr. If you've ever wondered how people can determine the year of release for Supreme - many use this resource. Find the link here. The Supreme archive documents all supreme releases from between Fall/Winter 2006 all the way to Fall/Winter 2015. A quick browse through the database can help you find the right information.
Another way of finding the exact garment is through Stockx. Find the link to Supreme here. Stockx's database contains Supreme from Spring Summer 2014 to today. Through the use of these resources 2006 all the way to today is covered.
2. AN EXAMPLE OF HOW TO USE THEM
Now you know about the relevant resources, we can go through an example. See this listing below. This is a Supreme T-shirt that we have found online. With only one example of the tag on this listing, it is hard to even begin authenticating the item before a purchase. This is where one can begin to use the references above.
3. BROWSING THE RESOURCES & IDENTIFYING THE SUPREME ITEM
After one minute of searching, we were able to discover the item on both Stockx and the Supreme Archive. This is the 'Moth Tee' from Spring/Summer 2015.
A useful piece of information is that Stockx has the retail price listed at $40 USD. This is the same price located on the tag in my listing that I am considering purchasing. This is already a green flag in terms of authenticity but it is pertinent to go one level deeper.
4. USING PRE-AUTHENTICATE SOURCES
Now it is time to use the internet to find versions of the exact item online from pre-authenticate sources. These are reliable marketplaces or stores who will authenticate the item on behalf of the buyer. If one can find this item as a reference, it is easy to determine if an item is authentic or not.
Sources:
Vestiaire CollectiveThe Real Real
Grailed
TRUSS ARCHIVE
After a browse on authentic sources, we found the exact garment and compared it. This was found on Grailed which tends to include many reference images. Here it is obvious that the stitching of the tag, the stitching of the neckline and the iconography are all identical. This method may be used to legit check any Supreme item.