How can i tell if my zegna suit if a fake?

Hi,

i just bought one zegna suit on ebay and it appears to be fused (I did the pinching test). I heard that zegna is supposed to be canvas and so this raises my suspicion. besides this, it seems like a very nice suit. any tricks to find out if its real or not?

thanks

I am pretty sure that Zegna, Zegna Soft and Z. Zegna are all fused the only one that is not is the XXX Napoli line...

Nah - Napoli and regular Zegna have floating chestpiece. Soft and Z are fused, in my experience.


B

I concur with BjornH.

Regular Zegna have full front canvasing.
Zegna Z are fused.

On Ebay, lot of people sell suits that was made by someone else who CLAIMS that they used Zegna fabric. I do not know if this is your case.

Also, if you are really want to know, go to boutique shop and observ authentic Zegna suits. Like the labels inside suit jackets and pants, stiches, detailing on waist band on pants, and zipper.

If your suit is Authentic Zegna suit, it should have idential or pretty close to ones from boutique shop.

Regular Zegna have full front canvasing. Zegna Z are fused.

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This is has been my experience as well. Ermenegildo Zegna is both a fabric manufacturer and a clothing manufacturer. It's possible for a suit to be made from Ermenegildo Zegna fabric by a manufacturer other than Ermenegildo Zegna. In addition, there's another fabric manufacturer out there with the Zegna name (Mario Zegna, I think, founded by one of the Zegna clan decades ago after a family tiff and a reputable producer). I've seen suits on eBay described as Zegna that were only made from Ermenegildo Zegna fabric. I've also seen suits on eBay described as Zegna that were only made from Mario Zegna fabric. Pay very close attention to the labels and beware.

what about 'Zeena'?

LOL.

wow, thanks for the responses. the suit i bought is not a z-line nor the soft. it is a normal zegna. the suit is also not a zegna tessuto or zegna fabric. thus, i was surprised the suit felt as if it was fused. i am thinking that maybe the pinch test is not 100% accurate? so, i am wondering if there are any other ways to test the authenticity of the suit. thanks again.

No, the pinch test is always accurate. They don't put thinner wool on the sleeves of the suit. You should check out the Zegna suits at your nearest dept. store and do the pinch test on those to check.

Speaking of fakes. Take a look at those two auctions and pay attention to the 'Made in Italy' tags pictured on the suits. The suits in question are from two different sellers in Germany. Are those Armani and Zegna ? Zegna suit Armani suit Stunning similarity Â

Speaking of fakes. Take a look at those two auctions and pay attention to the 'Made in Italy' tags pictured on the suits. The suits in question are from two different sellers in Germany. Are those Armani and Zegna ? Zegna suit Armani suit Stunning similarity Â

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read his negative feedback... he is without a doubt trying to misrepresent his items. Stay far away from.

Yes, avoid them like the plague. There is a steady stream of Armani, Boss and Zegna from Germany that are screaming fakes. The sellers around the Boss factory outlet are probably just flipping Boss suits on ebay but the rest are bad fakes as could be seen from the photos in their earlier auctions (inside pockets not set into the fabric etc.) The photos hide it better now but all the suits look the same.

B

I myself was fell into this 'ebay' trap.  I did purchase Armani suit (claimed by the seller).  The suit that I recieved was ... well .. quality of suit was total junk.  The seams kinks everywhere, the shoulders did not drape like 'Armani' look.

Plus the fabric (which Armani is known for ..) was not so soft nor delicate.  I felt like i was wearing a paper bag.  My existing Hugo Boss suits looked 100x more luxerious.

Point is, there are too many fakes on ebay.  You can never tell if the suit is authentic or not by looking at pics.  

I got pissed off when I recieved my fake Armani suit.  Do not buy Armani nor Zegna suits from Ebay .. I know I won't... In fact, I will never buy Italian suits from ebay, period (since they do not fit me well anyways ..)

I got my refund .. but still lost $120US just for shipping, but I hate to keep ***** that i do not need.

When I got the suit, it was so poorly packaged as well, it was in this clear plastic bag which the suit was rolled like
california roll and stuffed in FedEx Box. Now, if this was original article and costs $1500+US in retail, you would not sell it at mere $400+US. Plus, if you love suits you would package them as care and some thoughts. Am i not right?

MilanoStyle,

I am sorry for your bad experience. But I wish to clarify some things. I have bought hundreds of suits and sportcoats on ebay and have kept a very close eye on high-end clothing auctions for four years now. There are some fakes out there, but it is not quite as bad as your post makes it sound.

In most cases I can tell a fake suit from a real suit, from pictures. An Armani Collezioni, maybe not in every case. But a higher end item? Even from a few dimly lit pics I could tell in almost every case. You can't fake top-quality work without the differences being glaringly obvious.  

Fakes are not all that common. With a label like Armani they are certainly out there - everybody knows the name and they are fused suits, good fused suits for sure, but still fused suits. So not that hard to knock off, and there is profit to be made.

With handmade and hand finished clothing it's not so easy. There is no real reason to knock them off - not many know the name, and most that do could spot a fake from across the room. So fake versions of handmade or hand finished suits are rare enough that I have never seen one (excepting that Zeena suit in 'The Family Man' More often (but still very rarely) you will see cheap suits with expensive labels sewn in to them. Those should be easy to spot though.  

As for the low prices - that is no evidence as to the authenticity, or lack of it. I make a living hunting down high-end clothing at giveaway prices and reselling it for a small percentage of retail. The deals are out there, on authentic merchandise. Clothing is a volume business. Out with the old, in with the new, regardless of the original retail value.

About the packaging - that sounds pretty bad. When you say rolled up, do you mean literally rolled? That is ridiculous. The bag is not a bad idea though - I use clear plastic bags myself. They aren't as pretty as tissue paper but they do a lot better job of protecting the box when it gets drenched in oil or water (yes, this has happened to my packages before.)

The two suits BjornH posted? The "Zegna" is a mediocre fused suit made from Zegna fabric. Not a fake really, it's just that the seller is misrepresenting it. The Armani could be fake - I'd have to see that particular one in person. Some of the other Armani suits that they are selling are definitely authentic. But the tags on this one look somewhat suspect (could be bad pics, could be fake labels - I can't say for sure.) If some are fake and some are real, it is not an unprecedented scam. There was an ebay seller in Germany (can't remember the name) who used to sell cheap suits with Kiton labels sewn in right along with authentic Kiton suits. (Most of the real items were acquired from US ebay seller's, in order to salt the auctions.) I even tried contacting the high-bidder's a few time to warn them, likely to no avail.  

The "made in Italy" tags aren't a good proof - there is some cross-pollination when it comes to those tags. You will see the same tag in authentic suits from multiple brands, which are not produced by the same company. And many companies switch to a different "Made in Italy" tag. or even use different versions at the same time.

Now a question for the board. On the rare occasions that I do see suits on ebay that are clearly fake, I would love to report them. But the problem is, how do I prove it to ebay. I know it for certain, based on my experience, but how am I going to convince ebay? That's the problem. I want these jerks kicked off, they harm innocent buyers and sellers, but the question is, how??

For whatever it's worth, the Armani suits being offered by German eBay sellers are, in my experience, real Armani, albeit real Armani destined for the German market. This means the cut and fabric often varies from what you'd find in the domestic US market. I've yet to see a fake up for sale. Like A Harris, I'm guessing that the Armani suit to which you linked is real.