1. Check the Price:

• Authentic Stone Island and C.P. Company products are known for their quality and are, therefore, usually quite expensive. If you find a deal that seems too good to be true, it probably is. Be cautious of items sold at significantly lower prices. Sometimes you can pick up a good deal, but always be cautious. We always recommend buying from reputable sellers like us and marketplaces with secure payments so you can get your money back in the event you do purchase a fake item.

2. Examine the Badge:

• The Stone Island badge, often called the “Compass Badge” is one of the most counterfeited elements. We have seen genuine jackets with fake badges attached and also the latter.
• Pay attention to the details:
  • An authentic badge has sharp and clear embroidery.
  • The buttons on the badge should be black, made of real horn, and have “Stone Island” engraved on them.
  • Examine the back of the badge; it should be evenly stitched and clean with minimal white sections.
  • The button sections should be oval and not completely straight.
  • A single drop stitch should appear at the bottom of the badge and two drop stitches on either side of the button holes. The top of the badge you can normally see a drop stitch in green thread.
  • The thread is slightly shiny

3. Fabric Quality:

• Stone Island is known for using high-quality fabrics. Counterfeit items may use cheaper materials. Look for any signs of poor quality, such as loose threads, uneven stitching, or thin fabric. This is a great sign of a fake item. We have recently produced a video on a fake pair of Stone Island nylon metal swim shorts, which shows some of these common errors. You can view the video on our Instagram page here

4. Art Numbers:

• Each Stone Island item comes with an “Art Number.” This is normally a 9-digit code that appears on the wash label in almost every garment. It will look something like this: “57154T1Y1.” The art number has its own meaning but can be used to double-check the product. If you Google search the art number, it should show image and web page results of the product you are looking for. This helps to compare your item to others. If, for example, you search for your art number and it brings up different results than you are expecting, then this is a telltale sign that something is off with either the product or the wash label. Unfortunately, Stone Island doesn’t publicise this database, but one has been created here based on the information available Common Cultured – Stone Island ART Checker
• Unfortunately, C.P. Company doesn’t currently have a similar database; however, they do still use art numbers like “14SCPUB04670.” This can be used to check the product against website results, but they do tend to have less visibility than Stone Island. However, they are also reproduced less.

5. Buttons and Zippers:

• Inspect the buttons and zippers. Authentic Stone Island products have high-quality, branded hardware. They mostly use YKK zips but have also previously used Lampo zippers.
• Normally, fake C.P. Company jackets have poor quality goggles and watch viewers; this is the biggest sign when spotting a fake.

6. Tags and Labels:

• Authentic items come with high-quality tags and labels that are neatly stitched or attached. Sometimes you will see genuine manufacturing faults, but on the whole, this doesn’t happen often.
• Examine the tags for any spelling errors or inconsistencies. We have recently spotted a difference in an RFID logo between a real and a fake item, which is a great way to tell if the item you have is genuine or not.

7. Certilogo Security Label: – Items that were manufactured after Spring Summer 2014 have a stitched-in Certilogo or “Certi.” This was originally a fabric label (which we prefer) and has since changed to a printed label the change was made in A/W 2021. The label contains a unique code, which is used to check if the item is genuine or not via the website here. You have to have the product in your possession and send off a picture of the label, which they will check using automated software. This is by far the best way to tell if an item is fake or not. However, we personally don’t feel it is 100% accurate 100% of the time, so we would also recommend checking all of the other steps. Reproducers have managed to get around the Certilogo software check, but since then, we believe they updated their system and improved upon the check.

C.P. Company started using Certilogo’s in Spring/Summer 2019, so more of their pieces don’t have the Certilogo; however, the same applies.

8. Packaging: – Authentic Stone Island items often come in high-quality packaging. Check for any discrepancies in the packaging, such as low-quality tags or bags. We’d also advise checking the art number on the swing tag matches the art number on the wash label.

9. Specific Products: – Certain product lines/designs seem to be faked. For example, if a certain jacket is in high demand, then the replica producers will look at reproducing that on a mass scale, as they know it will be in demand. We have compiled a list of items that have been faked in mass; this is ever-growing but helps us identify fakes. This poses the question: have we seen this model faked somewhere?

• Stone Island Tela Stella Smock
• Stone Island Ghost Smock
• Stone Island Opaque Puffer Jacket
• Stone Island Membrana 3L TC
• Stone Island Nylon Metal Swim Shorts
• Stone Island Garment Dyed T-Shirts
• Stone Island Skin Touch Nylon TC Jacket
• Stone Island Nylon Metal Jacket
• Stone Island x Supreme Riot Mask Jacket
• Stone Island Vintage Corduroy Overshirt

There are many more on this list, but these are some of the most popular.

10. Seek Expert Opinion: – If in doubt, consider seeking an expert’s opinion. We are happy to check the authentication of any Stone Island or C.P. Company item; simply get in touch with us here

Remember that counterfeiters are continually improving their techniques, so staying informed and vigilant is essential when shopping for Stone Island and C.P. Company items. If you have any doubts about the authenticity of an item, it’s best to refrain from purchasing it to be safe. Let us know in the comments if you have any questions on authenticity or if you think we’ve missed anything, and thanks for reading.