How to Spot Fake Designer Furniture

Real versus fake designer furniture: here are our top tips and tricks to spot replica pieces, avoid counterfeit items, and purchase authentic artistic designs.

“What is quality? Quality design must have a sense of authenticity. My work is not cutting edge, it is not supposed to be, but sometimes, the middle of the road is the most dangerous place to walk.” - David Collins, the go-to designer for hotels, restaurants, bars and boutiques in need of a glamorous makeover. 

This sense of authenticity and quality is in the Tulip table by Ero Saarinen, the Togo sofa by Michel Ducaroy, the Wishbone chair by Wegner, and the Beetle chair by GamFratesi. But how to tell if what you have in from of you is a fake designer furniture piece or an original?

Tip 1: marks and labels

Search for a tag attached to the fabric, a sticker glued on the base, or a mark stamped on the leather, or ask for the authenticity certificate. This is one of the easiest ways to validate the authenticity of a design piece. For example, you may find a small metal plate glued in a luxury dining table of Italian brands with a series number or a red tag on the Egg chair made between 2006 and 2010 by the Republic of Fritz Hansen.

Tip 2: authorized dealers

Simple, but life-changer tip: check the list of authorized dealers on the brand’s website to avoid buying copies, counterfeits and imitations of designer furniture. They are not synonyms but are not authentic also. 

Tip 3: materials and finishes touches

A real, authentic designer furniture piece is all about craftsmanship and details. That is what makes it timeless and iconic. Feel and touch the quality of finishes and materials. Pay attention to details. Here is a quick example to spot real designer seating pieces: 

• The fabric should be uniform, nicely tucked and smooth, and it should be stitched evenly, usually by hand which creates a wave effect.

• A paper cord seat should be tightly woven. Run from synthetic materials. 

• Wooden parts should have an even finish in colour with no knots. 

• High-quality fillers are always used for the cushions.

• Any detail that looks less than perfect is suspect. 

Tip 4: real has a story

Authentic and original designer furniture has a story to tell. They have a legacy. Try to discover and understand what’s the story behind the piece you loved. Did belong to a film-maker? Did already embellish a home in New Mexico and an apartment in Lisbon?

Also, the manufacture of original designer furniture tends to be guided by the desire to create a piece of furniture of great value, offering advantages in terms of safety and non-toxicity from high-quality furniture.

Tip 5: mechanism

Some design furniture creations have particularities relating to their mechanism and most replicas don’t have this feature because it is quite an expensive investment, cancelling the selling proposition and attraction of fake versions. 

Tip 6: price

You found an online marketplace or design market in a popular European capital selling that stunning and forever classic Eames Lounge Chair and Ottoman we have been seeing everywhere lately, from Instagram posts to movies and streaming series and, oh surprise, it is on sale for only $999. It is too good to be true. 

The recommended price range is between $5,400 and $9,995, and it depends on many factors as we explain below. For your reference, you can have a look at the manufacturer’s website or online shop, or the website of a retailer reputed for selling the real deal.

The real deal: what you need to know about three classics

Piece no. 1: How can you tell fake Togo sofas? 

In other words, Togo or not Togo?

• Step 1: Take note of the fabric folds enveloping the foam structure. An original settee has generous, voluptuous folds, but counterfeited Togo are often upholstered in less fabric. Have a look underneath. 

• Step 2: Analyse the button sizing and positioning. A genuine Togo is completed with small, flat buttons in the same fabric as its body upholstery.

• Step 3: Verify if it features a genuine Ligne Roset label sewn into the back. If not, then it’s likely to be fake or to have been reupholstered somewhere along the line. 

• Step 4: Ask about the origin of the piece. Togo is made by hand, exclusively in the Ligne Roset workshops in France, with skilled craftspeople dedicated to furniture-making art.  

Piece no. 2: The authentic Eames Lounge Chairs by Charles and Ray Eames

The Eames Lounge Chair and Ottoman, also feature as one of these iconic furniture pieces that entered our homes and our collective conscience, is said to be one of the most copied pieces of designer furniture of all time.  When you own an Eames item, you know you own a piece that will last for generations. The Lounge Chair requires 47 steps, many of which must be by hand. 

The Eames Lounge Chair and Ottoman continue to appreciate year after year and consistently. Authentic original examples will hold their value and possibly increase in value as time goes on.  When well-maintained, authentic new and vintage Eames lounge chairs hold their value over time and sell in the same price range of between $5,400 and $9,995. To hold the value of Eames designs, you first need to:

• Spot a fake version.

• Say no to replicas.

• Look for labels and shell details.

• Tip 1: Check the Reclining Feature

• Tip 2: Measure the Chair

• Tip 3: Search for Labels and Shell Details

• Tip 4: Look at the Base and Feet

Source of information: The Spruce

Piece no. 3: The authentic Louis Ghost chair

This avant-garde chair was the world’s first to be made from a single mould in polycarbonate. It’s a difficult task to emulate the crystalline brilliance of the Kartell aesthetic and copies can appear milky instead.

This pop art design has become an icon and as such has been copied and mass-produced. However, an original Louis ghost chair has no joints or bindings and is strong and flexible. Look also for the embossed mark on the seat – genuine articles also have a date, Kartell branding and the designer’s signature.
Luckily, it is easy to spot fake versions of Louis Ghost chair. 

What are the most copied furniture designs in the world?

Here are a few examples of well-known designers' pieces which are the most copied models in the world:

• Louis Ghost chair 

• Barcelona armchair by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, 1929 (Knoll)

• Chaise Wishbonne by Hans J. Wegner, 1950 (Carl Hansen & Søn)

• Egg chair by Arne Jakobsen, 1958 (design by Fritz Hansen)

• Coffee table by Isamu Noguchi, 1934 (production by Vitra)

• Eames DSW chair, 1950

• PH Artichoke lamp, 1958 by Poul Henningsen (1894–1967)

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