Recognising Genuine Comme des Garçons PLAY: An Authentication Guide
Filip Pagowski's heart with piercing eyes is one of the most copied logos in streetwear. T-shirts, cardigans and PLAY Converse circulate as counterfeits on a massive scale. Here is how to recognise a genuine Comme des Garçons PLAY piece.
At NB08, every piece is checked and authenticated in our boutique before it goes on sale. The reliable pointers are set out below.
Why check the authenticity of a CDG PLAY piece?
A simple product, a cult logo, high prices: fake PLAY pieces are everywhere on peer-to-peer platforms. Fortunately, the Japanese brand has very precise standards — including an official hologram.
The embroidered heart: look at the eyes
The heart is a sewn-on embroidered patch (never embroidered directly onto the T-shirt): dense embroidery, a crisp outline, perfectly drawn eyes that are slightly asymmetrical, as on the original. Copies almost always get the eyes wrong (too round, too centred), as well as the density of the red.
Hologram and AZ labels
Recent authentic pieces carry a silver hologram sticker on the inside label or on the cardboard tag. The composition label shows a product code in the AZ-… format consistent with the type of piece (e.g. AZ-T for T-shirts), and Japanese manufacture (or French, depending on the line). A code in the wrong format or no hologram at all on a 'new' piece: rule it out.
Material and cut
PLAY cotton is dense and slightly dry to the touch, the cut is fitted (Japanese sizing, runs small), the collars firm and the seams impeccable. A thin, limp jersey that stretches out is not genuine PLAY.
Price and seller: the warning signs
A new PLAY T-shirt costs more than €100: at €30, it's a copy. Insist on macro photos of the heart, the AZ label and the hologram.
Checklist: authenticating a CDG PLAY piece in 7 points
- Heart as a sewn-on patch, dense embroidery
- Eyes faithful to the original design
- Silver hologram present (recent pieces)
- Consistent AZ- format product code
- Made in Japan/France depending on the line
- Dense cotton, fitted cut
- Realistic price and reliable seller
Buy authenticated CDG PLAY at NB08
All our Comme des Garçons pieces — PLAY and collaborations — are checked and authenticated in our boutique before they go on sale.
