A. McQueen, fake?

[Ali.M]

Hi!

...And sorry if this isn't the right place to post this but I couldn't really find a proper section.

The thing is that I feel like a bloody moron right now. Why, you ask? Because I was SO eager to buy A. McQ's t-shirts from this season that I may have bought fakes!

It doesn't have anything to do with his death (R.I.P.), as I'm a true collector of his tops so I didn't just buy them to sell them on for bigger cash, IF you were wondering. I was just too slow and when I wanted to place an order it was already outsold before I could blink (on OKI-NI.com)...and it didn't make it any easier when people found out that he was deceased!

Well, time passed by and I kept searching for this particular t-shirt but with very little luck. Then suddenly, just out of the blue, a seller with good reputation had the exact t-shirt that I wanted up for auction on eBay. He had it in grey and white so I quickly, without any hesitation, placed a (high) bid and won both t-shirts. I paid the "guy", which in reality is a clothing store in Canada...well that's what they/he claim, I don't know for sure. But, as I said, I paid promptly and just after a week I received both t-shirts in size "Medium"....

I was of course bouncing around like crazy in the living room, finally to find this particular t-shirt. However(!), as I opened the envelope and unpacked the items I noticed that the size (Medium) ran really small. It fit almost like an American Apparel t-shirt in size XS/S...

This was really strange. Cause I've owned A. McQ tops going back from his 2003 collection 'till 2009, all in "Medium" and they don't run this small.

The fishy thing is also that OKI-NI's precise measurements of this exact t-shirt are far more different than the measurements of the t-shirt I bought from eBay....and then it struck me - "...could it be a fake?!"...

If it's a fake, then it's pretty damn good because the quality is fine but the quality of the print doesn't really "feel" like a McQueen job but it could be intended as it's a "painted" print.

The funny (or tragic) thing is that the seller is suddenly putting brand new A. McQueen t-shirts (exact model as the one I bought) on eBay on a daily basis. The seller also said that I could return them and get it in Large instead. I thought A. McQueen's t-shirts come in limited stock? How come they have so many in their possession?

I'm really confused.

If you own this t-shirt, or know ANYTHING about it (details etc.), then I could really use your help as I won't start a witch hunt against the seller without any sort of evidence - although I'm getting quite suspicious now.

Thank you in advance.

Best regards


PS. This is the t-shirt I'm talking about, taken from OKI-NI.com:

And this is where I bought it from:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=250635543727&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

 

[ad041715]

It looks authentic to me. It even has the tags still on them.

 

[Chanelcouture09]

your in luck, i actually own this t-shirt in white and blue, which i bought from selfridges so its the real thing, the paint effect shouldn't really feel much different to the cotton, obviously alittle different, but not much
the best place to run the sizes from are the Alexander McQueen site as they are available on the online store for the US and UK : Here
from the pictures on ebay its difficult to tell if they are fake, but also looking at the images there is one thing missing from the tags, there is usually a clear bag attached to the tag (tha same size as the tag) and its missing, and ebay aren't the best reputable place to buy designer clothing and accessories, and for him to offer an exchange is kind of fishy, like as you said they have all sold out, they pretty much sold out in a couple of days here
the best thing to do is probably return them if your not satisfied with them
i hope this kind of helps

 

[Ali.M]

your in luck, i actually own this t-shirt in white and blue, which i bought from selfridges so its the real thing, the paint effect shouldn't really feel much different to the cotton, obviously alittle different, but not much
the best place to run the sizes from are the Alexander McQueen site as they are available on the online store for the US and UK : Here
from the pictures on ebay its difficult to tell if they are fake, but also looking at the images there is one thing missing from the tags, there is usually a clear bag attached to the tag (tha same size as the tag) and its missing, and ebay aren't the best reputable place to buy designer clothing and accessories, and for him to offer an exchange is kind of fishy, like as you said they have all sold out, they pretty much sold out in a couple of days here
the best thing to do is probably return them if your not satisfied with them
i hope this kind of helps

Hi Chanelcouture09, thnx!

You're right about the clear plastic bag. I can't believe I forgot that.

Can you tell me anything about the size of your t-shirt? You don't have to measure anything, just tell me the "feel" of the fit.

The image I took from OKI-NI.com is in fact a "Medium" and the male model has the exact same height as me (5ft 11", 180cm) and the "Medium" I bought has a more tight fit, a lot more tight fit and that's what I don't understand because every other t-shirt I have from A. McQ is in "Medium" and they all measure the same.

One more thing. Can you tell me if the label on the back of the neck is black or white? On the official A. McQ webstore the label is white and not black...

As for the print, you can't really feel it when you run your fingers/hand over it. If it's a fake then it's really good made and the quality of the material and stitchings are also good.

Could it be "B-samples"??

 

[Ali.M]

Just looked at some close-ups from OKI-NI. The stitchings look different although the quality is fine on the one I bought.

I must say that if this T-shirt is fake then it's a bloody good replica - everything from the stitchings, cotton material to the print. However, I refuse to own replica's because I simply don't buy or wear them...

Oh well, I might just burn them now...

 

[Chanelcouture09]

^the label on the white is a white label (which i forgot to notice in the ebay images) and in the blue its a black label
so yes sadly its fake
return them, and if he wont accept a return try to contact paypal (as i assume you bought them with a paypal account)

 

[Les_Sucettes]

Most fakes from ebay, besides the obvious places (China etc..), are coming from Canada and Australia. So If i was you i would not buy designer from those countries on ebay at the mo, although sometimes they manage to hide the place of origin.

 

[Ali.M]

Bloody #@¤%!!!

I feel so stupid and I should have known better as I'm aware of counterfeit hi-fashion replica's on eBay. But I never regarded Canada as a "counterfeit zone" - such ignorance.

I guess I was so blinded because I really wanted this shirt. I can't believe I paid over $100 to a fraud and ended up with a counterfeit item. It's so ****ing disrespectable. Especially to the work of the great and late Alexander McQueen.

I'm so furious right now. I will try to file a dispute via eBay and PayPal. I'm also going to contact AlexanderMcQueen.com to inform them about this.

PS. Is there a friendly soul that would buy the REAL and authentic skull painted t-shirt at AlexanderMcQueen.com? The UK webshop does not have it in stock anymore but the US shop have some Medium's left. I will of course pay you in advance via PayPal. Thanks

 

[Ali.M]

Update:

I've double checked the T-shirt. The fabric is cut unevenly. It actually looks quite amateurish and I've never seen this sloppy craftsmanship on an Alexander McQueen Tee before...or any other well-regarded fashion brand....

Though I'm quite amazed that they got the painted print effect to a perfect degree...I wonder how do they do that?

I've just checked the sellers eBay reputation/score and he only got 1 negative feedback (item not delivered) out of 164. It seems that all the buyers who've bought from "Mansense" do not have a single clue that the clothing he sells are fake/replica's.

The seller has agreed to give me a refund but he still insists that the T-shirts are real. He wrote me that he/they bought the from an outlet store somewhere in Canada (yeah, right). I can't believe he's so stubborn after he has been caught in a lie. After I receive my refund I'll contact Alexander McQueen UK/US, eBay and PayPal.

This sucker is going down...

 

[Ali.M]

Alexander McQueen US have confirmed that these t-shirts are indeed counterfeit/fake/replica/bullsh*t.

Both PayPal and eBay have been contacted so let's see what happens. I can already see that these t-shirts are being sold by 3-4 different users on eBay and perhaps more are coming. Funny thing is, they're (authentic ones of course) sold out in E-V-E-R-Y single AMQ retail store.

So how on earth are they able to sell them in almost every size and have a large *** stock? Simple answer: They're fake. Fake fake fake.

 

[Fabulyss]

I'm considering purchasing a pre-owned Alexander McQueen dress on Ebay. The deal is incredible and the style is from F/W '10. I know there are counterfeit skull scarves and t-shirts all over Ebay, but is it possible that there are counterfeit gowns too? I'm such a pessimist and I don't want to risk it as the dress, while significantly reduced, isn't exactly dirt cheap either. By the way the seller is a mass seller from the US with mostly good reviews (some negative and neutral ones too though).

 

[Ali.M]

I'm considering purchasing a pre-owned Alexander McQueen dress on Ebay. The deal is incredible and the style is from F/W '10. I know there are counterfeit skull scarves and t-shirts all over Ebay, but is it possible that there are counterfeit gowns too? I'm such a pessimist and I don't want to risk it as the dress, while significantly reduced, isn't exactly dirt cheap either. By the way the seller is a mass seller from the US with mostly good reviews (some negative and neutral ones too though).

My advice to you is get some pictures of the actual item and post them here so we can judge. You could also try contacting A. McQueen US to verify if the item is a counterfeit or not.

Another advice is to use your common sense and get ALL the info you can on the actual item.