How to Spot Fake SKIMS: Real vs Fake Tags, Labels and Fendi x SKIMS

Why SKIMS Fakes Are Caught on the Tags, Not the Fabric

SKIMS sells stretch basics: bodysuits, shapewear, ribbed loungewear, slip dresses. That makes it easy to copy. A factory that already knits ribbed jersey can turn out a convincing Soft Lounge dress quickly, and on a phone screen the fabric of a fake looks the same as the real thing. Most buyers who get caught out were checking the wrong part of the listing.

The part counterfeiters keep getting wrong is the printed information. A genuine SKIMS hang tag is a small product record: what the item is called, its style code, its colour, its size and a retail barcode. The fakes our authenticators have seen copy the look of that tag (the kraft card, the white sticker, the SKIMS wordmark) but fill it with a slogan instead of product data. The same thing happens one level up on Fendi x SKIMS, where fakes swap the collaboration's own labels for a generic Fendi label with garbled care text.

So this guide is mostly about reading tags and labels. It covers the main SKIMS line and the 2021 Fendi x SKIMS collaboration, which resells for far more and is the one most worth checking.

Fakes, Dupes and What This Guide Covers

• Dupes are not fakes. Plenty of brands sell SKIMS-style bodysuits and slip dresses under their own names. That is generally legal. A counterfeit is a piece that carries the SKIMS name or the Fendi x SKIMS logos without being made by them.
• Main SKIMS line: bodysuits, Fits Everybody, Soft Lounge, Seamless Sculpt shapewear, cotton basics. The hang tag check in section 1 and the style code check in section 2 apply to all of it.
• Fendi x SKIMS (2021): bodysuits, catsuits, swimwear, sports tops, dresses and onesies printed or embossed with the FF and SKIMS logos. Sections 3 and 4 cover its labels, hang tag, box and zipper.
• Not covered: NikeSKIMS. We have not yet seen enough of it to write about it honestly.

The Hang Tag Sticker: Product Name, Style Code and Barcode

Turn the hang tag over and read the white sticker. On genuine SKIMS it is a product label. It names the line and the item ("FITS EVERYBODY HIGH NECK BODYSUIT"), then gives a style code, a colour name and a size, then a barcode with its number printed below.

The fakes our authenticators flagged print a slogan in the same position: "SKIMS / GIVE / U THE BEST / ORIGINAL DESIGN". No item name, no style code, no colour, no size. On one of them "ORIGINAL" is even spelled "QRIGINAL".

The kraft card itself does not help. The genuine and fake tags above are the same brown card with a white sticker and the same wordmark, so judge the tag on what the sticker says.

Cross-Checking the Style Code and Colour

Once the sticker has a style code, use it. Genuine SKIMS style codes we have seen follow one pattern: two letters, three letters, then four digits, separated by hyphens. BS-BST-0232 is a high neck bodysuit, AP-SET-0600 a Soft Lounge sleep set, and the Fendi x SKIMS crew neck onesie carries BS-BSF-1181.

• Search the code or the item name on the SKIMS site. A real style code matches a real product, and the product photos should show the same cut and colour as the listing.
• Check the colour name. SKIMS uses its own colour names (Onyx, Jasper, Bubble Gum and so on). A colour that SKIMS never sold for that item is a warning sign.
• Check the size against the label inside. The hang tag, the care label and the listing should all agree.

Fendi x SKIMS: The Woven FF Tab and Care Label

Fendi x SKIMS stretch pieces have their own labels, and they are distinctive. At the back neck (or inside the back of a swimsuit) there is a woven tab, dyed the same colour as the garment, with a large FF monogram above the word SKIMS in the SKIMS lettering. Below it is a satin care label printed in matching colour.

On the genuine pieces we have checked, the care label opens with the US registration number RN 158973, gives the fibre content in three languages (for example 74% polyamide, 26% elastane, then the French and Spanish versions), and states the country of manufacture. Every genuine stretch piece we have seen was made in Turkey or Albania.

The fake Fendi x SKIMS swimsuit below has none of this. It carries a generic black "FENDI ROMA MADE IN ITALY" neck label, and its care tag reads "SUPERIOR GOODS OF THE HIGHEST STANDARD", "REGIS TERED TRADEMARK" and "BY UNIT NUNDRED 100%COTTON", on a stretch swimsuit that is plainly not cotton.

Fendi x SKIMS: Hang Tag, Box Label and Zipper

The rest of a Fendi x SKIMS piece gives you three more things to cross-check.

The hang tag is a bright magenta card. Its sticker follows the SKIMS format (style, name, colour, size) with a 13-digit barcode, as on this genuine crew neck onesie.

The fake swimsuit came with a dark grey "FENDI ROMA" card with no product sticker on the front.

The box is the same magenta. Its label names the item in words ("BODYSUIT FENDI SKIMS EMBOSSED"), gives the colour, and carries a Fendi style code beginning FXF, a barcode and the Fendi Roma logo.

The zipper, on the pieces that have one, is colour-matched with an OPTI-branded pull. The fake had a plain black unbranded pull.

When you send a Fendi x SKIMS piece for authentication, order it under Fendi, not SKIMS, so it is checked against Fendi's references.

What Packaging Does and Does Not Prove

Main-line SKIMS often arrives in a clear poly bag with a printed sticker. Those stickers come in more than one layout, even for the same item, so a sticker that looks different from the one on your last order is not proof of anything on its own. Read it the same way as the hang tag: the item name, style code, colour, size and barcode should all be there and should all match the piece inside.

Packaging is context, not evidence. Bags, boxes and stickers are easy to reuse or reprint. Use them to cross-check the details, never as the reason to believe an item is real.

Where This Guide Is Limited

This guide rests on SKIMS and Fendi x SKIMS pieces sent to LuxeDetect for authentication, plus a handful of confirmed fakes. That is enough to show the patterns above, which are clear and repeat. It is not enough to cover every counterfeit factory, and it does not cover fabric, fit or NikeSKIMS. A good fake with a copied style code and a correct-looking label will get past these checks, which is where a professional review helps.

Quick Authentication Checklist

• If there is a hang tag, read the sticker: item name, style code, colour, size and an all-digit barcode must all be there.
• Reject any tag with slogan text such as "GIVE U THE BEST ORIGINAL DESIGN".
• Search the style code or item name on the SKIMS site and compare the product.
• On Fendi x SKIMS, look for the tonal woven FF/SKIMS tab and the satin care label with RN 158973; a generic Fendi label in their place is a fail.
• Check the care label for misspellings, a cotton claim on a stretch piece, or "Made in Italy" on a bodysuit or swimsuit.
• Check the Fendi x SKIMS hang tag (magenta), box label (FXF code) and zipper pull (OPTI) if present.
• Treat packaging as a cross-check only.

A wrong tag or label on check 1, 2 or 4 is enough to walk away; a missing tag is not. Two or more smaller mismatches should send you to a professional opinion before you pay.

When to Get a Professional Opinion

Main-line SKIMS pieces are inexpensive enough that most buyers simply buy from SKIMS or its listed retail partners. Resale is where it gets risky: sold-out colours, limited drops and above all Fendi x SKIMS, which often resells well above its original price. If a listing has a correct-looking tag and you still have doubts, or the seller cannot show the labels clearly, it is worth a second pair of eyes. For Fendi x SKIMS, order under Fendi; for everything else, use the button below.

Our authenticators compare your photos of the tags, labels and construction against verified genuine SKIMS and Fendi x SKIMS examples. You get a clear verdict within 24 hours and a Certificate of Authenticity for genuine items.

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