Vestiaire Collective reveals how it identifies counterfeits

Counterfeiting has infiltrated many channels in the luxury sector, including on re-sale platforms. The wide availability of fake goods has forced brands to tackle issues of transparency, with luxury pre-owned retailer Vestiaire Collective this year publishing its first Trust Report 2022.

The report gives insight into the company’s 13 years of research in the authentication of luxury items, with five specialized centers around the world, including France, United Kingdom, United States, Hong Kong and South Korea).

“With this Trust Report, we wanted to tell you how it all began, and introduce you to the amazing people and sophisticated processes behind every article sent or received,” said Fanny Moizant, President and co-founder of Vestiaire Collective. Behind the scenes is a team of 60 digital and physical authentication experts from luxury companies, auction houses, well-known retailers, the gemmology and streetwear sectors.

360m euros of goods have been rejected

The Paris-based company’s authenticators have rejected 360 million euros worth of items since 2020, while on average 25,000 authentic and approved items are listed daily. 8 percent of items do not make the grade.

Each of Vestiaire Collective’s authenticators checks over 40,000 items a year, for a total of more than 1.5 million garments and accessories since 2019.

High accuracy in detecting fakes

Through this system, counterfeits are detected with an accuracy of 99.9 percent, what it deems a virtuous integration between human skills and technology. Training is done via the Vestiaire Academy, where two months of preliminary training and 180 hours of annual training aims to curb the counterfeits of tomorrow.

Vestiaire Collective is a member of the SMI (Sustainable Market Initiative) Fashion Task Force established by King Charles III. Together with other luxury brands the company is working on a Digital ID system designed to inform customers about the sustainability and lifecycle of their garments.

Technical innovations such as Blockchain could revolutionise the authentication process, although currently there is no standard industry solution incorporating Digital ID and Blockchain to authenticate at scale.