Yeezy 350 V2 Real vs Fake: Zebra, Beluga and White Legit Check Guide (2026)

Why the Yeezy 350 V2 Is Checked at the Size Label

The Adidas Yeezy 350 V2 is widely faked. It has been in production since 2016, and most major colourways since, from Zebra and Beluga 2.0 to Cream White and Bred, have been counterfeited. Most pairs also reach a buyer second-hand, so a genuine pair is often worn: the Boost has yellowed, the knit is scuffed and the inside label is faded.

The honest starting point is what fakes copy. The knit pattern, the SPLY-350 lettering (including its quirk of reading mirrored on one shoe), the translucent outsole cage, the "boost" stamp on the heel pod, the printed insole and even the layout of the inside size label are all reproduced, often well. Those visible details are weak evidence on their own, and this guide rates them that way.

What holds up better is consistency. A genuine size label is a set of fields that have to agree with each other and with the colourway: the factory code has to fit the country, the code and layout have to fit the date, and the article number has to belong to the colourway in your hands. Fakes are printed from templates, and templates get these relationships wrong. Most of the checks below are therefore consistency checks, ranked by how reliable each one is when it fails.

The Inside Size Label Format and Fields

The label is stitched inside the shoe, near the tongue and ankle lining. On a genuine pair it follows one layout, top to bottom:

• A "MADE IN" line naming the country (China, Vietnam and India all occur on genuine pairs)
• A five-column size grid: US, UK, FR, JP and CHN, with the five sizes beneath it
• A factory code and a production date written MM/YY
• MALE/MÂLE
• ART followed by the article number
• A two-dimensional code and the adidas logo
• A "#" number and a serial string

The sizes in the grid must agree with each other. On genuine labels we compared, US 7 sits with UK 6½, FR 40, JP 250 and CHN 245; US 9½ with UK 9, FR 43⅓, JP 275 and CHN 265; US 11½ with UK 11, FR 46, JP 295 and CHN 285.

Factory Code, Country and Date Layout

The line under the size grid carries a factory code and the production date. On the genuine labels we compared, each code kept the same country: APE 779001 and EVN 791001 with MADE IN CHINA, APC 011001 with MADE IN INDIA, and APH 281001 and LHG 029003 with MADE IN VIETNAM. The 2D code also changes with the date. On the genuine labels we compared, those dated up to 11/21 carry a small rectangular Data Matrix, and from 12/21 the label carries a square QR code with three corner squares.

The Article Number Against the Colourway

The ART number identifies the colourway. It has to be the number for the colourway you think you are holding, and the same number has to appear on the box. These are the numbers we saw on genuine labels, plus two taken from retail release listings:

Note that EF2367 belongs to Static Reflective. It is not the Zebra number, as an earlier version of this guide said; Zebra is CP9654.

The Date on the Size Label

The MM/YY on the size label is the production month of that pair, not the date on the box. It should fall in a plausible run for the colourway. Genuine Cream White labels we compared read 05/18; genuine Zebras read 09/18, 11/19 and 09/20 across restocks; a later colourway such as Hyperspace reads 03/22. A date before the colourway existed, or one that contradicts the 2D code era above, is wrong.

The date is easy to copy: a fake Cream White we compared carries 05/18, the same month as the genuine pairs. Use it to catch impossible dates, not to confirm a pair.

Boost, Outsole, Insole and the Moulded Code

On a genuine 350 V2 the Boost midsole sits in a translucent cage with rectangular windows. The heel pod is stamped "boost", the toe of the cage carries "adidas" and the trefoil, and the insole is printed "adidas" and "YEEZY" with the trefoil, in a colour that changes with the colourway (black on Zebra, orange-red on Beluga 2.0, white on Black). Under the insole is a moulded trefoil and the code YH-0010 followed by a size bracket; a genuine US 11 showed 10-11.

Fakes copy all of it: the pod stamp, the toe stamp, the insole print and the moulded code were all present on fakes we compared. The midsole colour is the one visible detail that can slip. Beluga 2.0 has a grey-green translucent Boost, not a cream one as an earlier version of this guide said. Zebra and Cream White Boost is pale cream and yellows with age. A fake Zebra we compared had a peach-coloured midsole.

SPLY-350 Lettering and the Knit

The SPLY-350 lettering is knitted into the outer side of the shoe, in red or orange on Zebra, Bred and Beluga 2.0. On the pairs we compared, the lettering reads normally on one shoe and mirrored on the other. That is the grain of truth behind the old claim that it is "mirrored on authentic pairs": it is, but only on one shoe, and fakes copy it, so a mirrored shoe is not a flag and a normal one is not proof.

Colourways with a reflective finish, such as Beluga Reflective, are separate releases with their own article numbers; Beluga 2.0 itself is not a reflective release. The knit pattern, such as the Zebra stripes, was reproduced on the fakes we compared, so it is a weak check.

The Box and Its Label

The box carries a label with the model line, the article number, the colour (written in Chinese on the China-printed box we looked at), the size, an EAN barcode and, on some boxes, a production date. Its article number should normally match the one on the shoe's size label.

Zebra, Beluga and White on White: Checking by Colourway

People search for these pairs by nickname (Yeezy 350 Zebras, Beluga, white on white Yeezys), but the checks above work the same way on each one. Start from the colourway you think you hold, then make the label agree with it.

• Zebra. The article number is CP9654. We saw genuine Zebra labels from a China run dated 09/18 and an India run dated 11/19, so a different country on a genuine pair is normal. The red SPLY-350 lettering and the stripe pattern are copied well by fakes, so they are weak evidence either way.
• Beluga 2.0. The article number is AH2203, and the translucent Boost is grey-green, not cream. A label sold as Beluga 2.0 that carries Zebra's CP9654 is a mismatch we saw on a fake pair. Beluga Reflective is a separate release with its own number, GW1229.
• White on white. The all-white pairs, such as Cream White (CP9366), have no colour contrast to check, so the label does more of the work. The Boost yellows with age on genuine pairs, so yellowing alone tells you nothing. Check the article number against the colourway, then the factory code against the country.

A match on any of these proves nothing, because fakes copy real numbers. A mismatch is a red flag.

What Fakes Copy

• The knit pattern and the SPLY-350 lettering, including the mirrored reading on one shoe
• The translucent outsole cage, the heel pod "boost" stamp and the toe "adidas" stamp
• The insole print and the moulded YH-0010 code
• The layout of the size label, often with a real factory code, a real article number and a real date

Quick Authentication Checklist

• The size label uses the five-column adidas layout with a country line, factory code, MM/YY, ART, 2D code and a # number
• The five sizes in the grid agree with each other
• The factory code goes with the country, and CLU 600001 is not the code
• The 2D code fits the date (Data Matrix to 11/21, QR from 12/21)
• The ART number is the number for the colourway, for example CP9654 for Zebra
• The date falls in a plausible production run for the colourway
• The midsole colour matches the colourway
• The box article number matches the shoe's size label, or the mismatch is explained

One failure on the label format, the factory code and country, or the article number is a strong reason to walk away; two failures settle it. Passing every check does not prove a pair is genuine, because the better fakes copy the label.

When to Get a Professional Opinion

Most checks here compare information on the label and the colourway, and they catch the careless fakes. The better fakes reproduce the label, the lettering and the sole, and for those a second pair of eyes comparing the whole pair against genuine references is worth more than any single tell. Our authenticators review sneaker submissions from $9 with fast turnaround and return a Certificate of Authenticity. Send clear photos of both inside size labels, the box label, the outer side of each shoe, the insole and its underside, and the sole.

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