Hey, so just before you jump into the articles and pictures with comparisons, please take a minute to get introduced to some basic info about tags, how to read product codes and what does crossed brand tag mean.

Always the easiest way to spot fakes in most of Balecniaga pieces is the washtag and details on them – we dont really focus on the necktag/brandtag or other little things. Scammers know about it – so always be sure to legit check item before and after purchase! You can also always ask about tagged picture of washtag, for example wash + note with your name and date.

If You are interested in specific year of production just use on of anchor links placed below:

Product codes are always on the bottom of washtag and include some random mix of letters and numbers. Every retail tag has the explanation of the codes, they should always match the washtag! You can always google the category style+fabric+colour code to see if it matches with item. We will include pictures with examples below.

Crossed brand tag in most cases means it was sold on sale – private or friends family of Balenciaga.  Probably has some slight imperfections, flaws or anything similiar – it couldnt be sold in retail stores.

To legit check pieces from these years we have to look at few factors such as:
- whole material of washtag – should be matte colour with paper-ish feeling to touch, with time is pretty easy to wash it out
- sizetag is 90% of times centered comparing to whole tag, as well as size on it
- font on the text of washtag and product codes are much thinner comparing to fakes
- product codes on the bottom are well centered and near the bottom edge of the washtag
- some pieces also got extra 'archetype' tag

In 2018 there are two types of washtags with different layouts and materials – „older” one with paper-feeling and new one made out of plastic-like material. Both are pretty easy to legit check and spot differences, just look for the follow and pictures below:
- sizetag as in previous years is always centered and not as big in size as in fake piece
- washing symbols are much bolder and easy to compare
- product codes are text on the washtag is in same boldness, much thicker comparing to fake one
- white older tag has same issues, but we also the see the difference on the main BALENCIAGA writing on front
- new tags, with shiny, plastic material are pretty easy to wash out, but if you put light on them you should be still able to read out everything
- main difference is sizetag, same as previous years – always centered
- balenciaga writing should be on same height as sizetag – you can clearly see it on pictures
- text on washtag is centered and slightly less bolder than on fake piece- product codes has spacing between lines and are placed higher than on fake piece

From 2019 and so on we are only dealing with shiny plastic-like material washtags only. Layout looks almost exactly same like in 2018 version, with few exceptions like on flannel oversized shirts, sweaters and other items. They are also pretty easy to washout – but with flashlight you should be able to see everything in that case. Main differences to spot fakes in this year are:
- sizetag, which should be always centered and perfect in size – neither really bold or thin
- big balenciaga writing should be perfectly spaced under sizetag and centered with same space between left and right edge of tag
- text on the washtag is always justed to the left size with some space to the edge. There shouldnt be any typos, text is always thin and slim
- three lines of product codes on the very bottom are centered perfectly in the middle of tag with some space from all the edges – fakes in this year really often had placed it wrong

2020 and 2021 are years when there is a little mess with tags – we got same tags as in 2018/2019 and as well as new tags in different sizes – longer than balenciaga used to use in previous seasons. Short 2020 tags are just as easy to legit check as previous years – everything looks the same.
Longer tags which appear in sweaters and some sweatshirts/hoodies have some new features that Im gonna mention and describe below:
- sizetag as always should be centered in the middle of washtag and perfect in size
- text is printed in a bit other way, because of that is thinner. Watchout for any typos, wrong spacing, boldness of text.
- size is almost(!!!) always mentioned below the text – but its not a rule! There are exceptions of it
- product codes on the bottom as in every year should be centered and placed perfectly with the same font as in text above,

In 2021 there was a release of afterworld destroyed jeans which has really good replica from „godbless” –  will show you differences below:
-biggest tell is distressing and overall look of them (such as colours, shape etc) – retail pair is faded blue with deep navy blue (almost black) layering, meanwhile fake one its just cheap and you can spot difference right away. Pretty often sellers use photos of real pair taken from web, so always ask for tagged pics.
-brand tag is much bolder and crooked comparing to authentic one
-washtag is almost perfect and its hard to spot any differences between them just based on photos. Biggest tell is thickness of the font and how visible is it – fake one looks like its slightly washed out.

Tags on these two years are pretty much same as in previous tags, but fakes are looking slightly different, there will be pictures of comparison of each year + best fake of skater zip-up hoodie. So wrapping it up:
-sizetag as always should be centered in the middle of washtag and perfect in size
-font in fakes are always much bolder and its the easiest tell to spot it right away
-material of washtag should always be shiny, „flowy” and light, meanwhile on fakes its much more matte and thicker

On this year tags are also similiar to previous year, but the fonts slightly changed – fakes in this year are really good so be careful and pay attention to details. Main differences to look for:
- sizetag is not perfectly centered as in previous years, it should be slightly longer and placed more to down edge
- font of text in fakes are thinner comparing to authentic pieces, in some fakes text is also bigger than it should be
- font of the product codes should be the same as in text above, not thinner or bolder