Casablanca is one of the most counterfeited labels in menswear right now. The silk camp-collar shirts are recognisable from ten feet away, retail prices sit well above $600 for the silk pieces, and the brand has only been around since 2018, which means there is no long paper trail of “classic” fakes for buyers to learn from the way there is with, say, a Ralph Lauren polo. That combination, instantly recognisable design plus a young brand plus a high price, is exactly what counterfeiters look for.
There is even a dedicated Reddit community, r/CasablancaReps, built entirely around replica Casablanca pieces, alongside constant legit-check threads in r/DesignerReps and r/FashionReps. The demand for a convincing fake is real and well organised. Here is what actually separates a genuine piece from one, without relying on tricks that stopped working two seasons ago.
Start with the price
This is the least glamorous check and the most reliable one. Casablanca does not go on deep discount outside of official sample sales and select stockists, and the silk shirts in particular hold their price on the resale market. If a listing shows the Tennis Club Icon graphic tee for under $80, or a silk shirt for under $150, that is not a deal. Genuine Casablanca t-shirts and shirts on our own site run from $265 up to $725, and the official UK retail price for the standard Tennis Club Icon cotton tee is around $250 (£199.99). A private seller pricing the same shirt at a third of that has either got a fake, or is describing a heavily worn piece and not saying so.
Check the fabric against what the piece is supposed to be
Casablanca is specific about materials, and that specificity is a genuine authentication tool. The brand’s cotton t-shirts, including the Tennis Club Icon graphic tee, are made from 100% organic cotton and are machine washable at a low temperature. The silk shirts are a completely different fabric: no stretch, a cool, slightly slippery hand-feel, and a drape that a cotton-poly blend cannot fake convincingly no matter how good the print is.
If a seller describes a silk shirt but the fabric in the photos looks matte, thick, or stiff, or if a “100% silk” listing is priced like a cotton tee, that mismatch is worth more than any logo comparison. Fabric is expensive to fake well. Prints are cheap to fake well. Weight your suspicion accordingly.
Look at the label, not just the logo
The printed Tennis Club graphic on the front of a shirt is the easiest part to copy, so it is the least useful thing to inspect. The interior label is harder to get right and worth more of your attention:
- The brand name should be printed or woven in a clean, even typeface with consistent letter spacing. Uneven spacing or a slightly blurred print on the label itself is a common tell.
- Wash-care instructions on a piece sold as a US or UK listing should be in English alongside any other languages. One widely shared legit-check thread on r/DesignerReps flagged a shirt as fake specifically because the wash tag was printed in Japanese only, with no English at all, despite being sold as a standard US-market piece.
- Stitching on the label itself should be straight and even. A label that is crookedly attached, has loose thread ends, or was clearly stitched in a hurry is inconsistent with how the rest of the garment is finished.
None of these checks work in isolation, and counterfeiters do update their production once a specific tell gets posted online enough times. Use the label as one data point, not a verdict.
Check what comes in the box
According to Casablanca’s own return policy, items are only eligible for return in their original condition, unworn, undamaged, and with all original tags and packaging intact. That policy exists because the brand ships with a specific tag and packaging set. A shirt that arrives as a bare garment in a plastic bag, with no hangtag, no care label, and no branded packaging, was either not sold as new or was never Casablanca stock to begin with.
Ask for what a stock photo will not show you
Product photos on a resale listing are frequently stock images pulled from the brand’s own lookbook, not photos of the actual item for sale. Before buying from an individual seller, ask for a close-up photo of the interior label, the care tag, and the stitching at the side seam, taken in hand rather than lifted from elsewhere. A seller who has the actual piece will send these in a couple of minutes. A seller who hesitates, stalls, or sends the same studio photo again is not confident in what they are selling.
Why buying through an authenticated seller solves this problem
Every DIY check above is a signal, not a guarantee. Counterfeiters read the same legit-check threads buyers do, and the specific tell that worked last year does not always work this year. That is the actual argument for buying through a reseller that authenticates before shipping rather than relying on your own eye. Every piece we sell is verified before it goes out, sizing is checked against the brand’s own chart, and returns run for 30 days at no cost if anything looks off once it arrives. That takes the guesswork out of the one purchase where guessing wrong costs the most.
Frequently asked questions
Are there fake Casablanca Tennis Club shirts?
Yes. The Tennis Club graphic is one of the most copied prints in the brand’s catalogue, and it has its own dedicated replica community on Reddit.
How do I know if my Casablanca shirt is original?
Compare the price against official retail, check that the fabric matches what the listing claims, organic cotton for graphic tees and true silk for the camp-collar shirts, and inspect the interior label for even stitching and care instructions in the correct language for the market it was sold in.
Is Casablanca a luxury brand?
Yes. It sits in the contemporary luxury bracket alongside labels like Amiri and Rhude, priced above mass fashion but below the largest heritage houses.
Why are Casablanca shirts so expensive?
The silk pieces use genuine silk rather than a blend, which costs more to source and sew, and the brand keeps production volumes limited compared to larger fashion houses. Scarcity and material cost both feed into the retail price, and that same price gap is what makes the brand worth faking.
Is Casablanca clothing good quality?
The cotton pieces use organic cotton with clean construction, and the silk shirts use genuine silk with a proper drape. Most quality complaints in owner reviews are about fit expectations rather than the materials themselves.
How much does a Casablanca T-shirt cost?
Official retail runs from roughly $250 for a graphic cotton tee up into the $600 to $700 range for the more elaborate embroidered and printed pieces. Anything priced far below that for a piece claiming to be new should be treated as a red flag first.
