10 Times Celebs Got Caught Wearing Fake Jewelry, Watches, and More

Whether it was Lil Baby's fake $400,000 Patek or Soulja Boy's bootleg Gucci collection, our favorite celebs have been caught wearing some hilarious fakes.

Oct 16, 2023
Zack Whitford / Marc Patrick/BFA.com, Sean Zanni / Patrick McMullan via Getty Images

We’ve all been there before. Chances are, if you’re into fashion, you’ve likely been played by accidentally buying a fake piece here and there. Whether it was a Supreme box logo hoodie with a “floating e” or some Air Jordans where the Jumpman embroidery looked like it got a BBL, it hurts to realize you copped a knockoff. Of course, there have likely been some instances where you’ve actually considered some bootleg gear yourself. Because who knows when you’ll actually have enough income to buy a real Rolex Submariner or Louis Vuitton Keepall? That’s what Canal Street and swap meets are for.

But of course, we can’t help but laugh at all the times our favorite celebs have been caught wearing fake designer clothes, jewelry, watches, and more. Naturally, flexing one’s wealth is a byproduct of becoming famous. So it’s always enlightening to see that even celebs, who have millions to spend, still get caught accidently buying fake gear or embracing the most ludicrous bootlegs like the rest of us. While we would likely go into cardiac arrest if we learned we spent $400,000 on a fake Patek Philippe watch like Lil Baby, many of us also likely resonate with celebs like Soulja Boy. That man is a true master of faking the flex who could care less about owning fake APs and Gucci sneakers. He’s like that one guy we all know who loves pulling out that fake Rolex every time he hits the club.

Here's the most embarrassing fake jewelry, watches, and designer clothing worn by celebs.

Lil Baby’s Fake $400,000 Patek

Rick Ross’ Fouis Vuitton Fiasco

Dwyane Wade’s Supreme Italia-A** Box Logo Hoodie

Laxpics / GC Images

When: 2017

 It seemed like everyone and their mother wanted a Supreme box logo in 2017, when the brand was valued at $1 billion and releasing a collaboration with Louis Vuitton. Like any highly coveted clothing brand, horrible bootlegs skyrocketed as Supreme’s popularity grew. This Dwyane Wade fit is a perfect example of some of the worst Supreme bootlegs that surfaced. Here, Wade is seen wearing a screen-printed Supreme hoodie with a comically large version of the brand’s iconic box logo. Respectfully, D-Wade tried hard to nail down the skater look, pairing the Canal Street box logo with some Sus-preme shorts and black Vans. Although this Supreme hoodie dupe looked ridiculous, Wade was far from being the only person who fell for fake Supreme around this time. For years, an Italian father-son duo, Michele Di Pierro and his son Marcello, exploited trademark loopholes to sell fake Supreme gear around the world—filing trademarks under “Supreme Italia” and “Supreme Spain” in countries that the real Supreme had not touched yet. The Di Pierros were eventually sentenced to some hefty prison time along with having to pay millions in fines in 2021. Since then, Supreme established its trademark rights overseas by recently opening stores in countries like Korea, China, and Italy. However, we’ll never forget this era of cringey Supreme fakes that led to many people dressing like D-Wade in this photo. Remember that unreleased collaboration between Supreme Italia and Samsung? 

Busta Rhymes' Busted Supreme x Louis Vuitton Sweater

Zack Whitford / Marc Patrick/BFA.com

When: 2018

Now, we’re not knocking Busta Rhymes’ style. His outlandish outfits in the 1990s truly paved the road for rappers to take fashion risks and not prescribe to preconceived notions of what they should dress like. But with that being said, this fake Supreme x Louis Vuitton crewneck Busta wore to Coachella in 2018 is just unacceptable. It’s a shame that his hype man, Spliff Star, got dragged into it, too, by wearing a blue iteration of this bootleg. While this crewneck would sit nicely next to some bootleg Supreme x Louis Vuitton AirPod cases or slides, we can’t lie and act like Busta’s never worn a good bootleg. In the past, he has donned some beautiful unofficial Louis Vuitton pieces by Dapper Dan. The most notable looks include this custom leather set he wore to the 2009 BET Awards and all the outfits he wore in his 2013 music video for “Twerk It.” Let’s just hope this fake Supreme Louis Vuitton look never appears again. 

Tekashi 6ix9ine’s BBS Diamond Chain

Nearly Everything Soulja Boy Owns

Maury Phillips / WireImage, Joce / GC Images

When: For infinity and beyond.

No disrespect to Soulja Boy. He had everyone rocking BAPE-stas, shades decorated with white-out paint, Gucci bandanas, and super-long white tees for a minute. And now that Y2K-styles are back in vogue, it’s clear his influence is undeniable—we see you TisaKorean. But for real, when you’ve accumulated this much pretty boy swag, you’re bound to dabble in some pretty bad fakes. What makes Soulja Boy different from other celebs is that he truly relishes in wearing dubious gear just for the flex. He’s consistently been caught wearing fake Richard Milles, Breitlings, APs, Rolexes, and more. During his prime in the late 2000s, he uploaded YouTube videos where he proudly showcased his collection of fake Gucci sneakers after blowing his nose into a Benji that he tossed into a questionable Gucci wastebasket. Truly, it’s hard for rappers to top Soulja Boy when it comes to embracing fakes. Beyond clothes, he's photographed himself flexing in front of luxury cars with no license plates, leading many to believe they’re rentals. He’s vehemently defended himself in the past against followers who accused him of buying fake jewelry and swore he paid for a $6 million penthouse in Hollywood—TMZ reported it was just an Airbnb. Soulja Boy’s even attempted to capitalize off fakes by selling his own SouljaWatches and SouljaConsoles, which were just knockoffs of popular electronics found on Alibaba. But even though Soulja Boy’s been constantly clowned for fake flexing throughout his entire career, he certainly influenced tons of young hip-hop fans to buy a Gucci headband years before Lil Pump dropped “Gucci Gang.”

Famous Dex’s Dior Air Jordan 1 “Mids”

T-Pain’s Temu Richard Mille Watch

Big Boi’s Retro Air Jordan F8kes

View this video on YouTube
YouTube.com

When: 2009

Perhaps one of the most notorious fake sneakers ever worn by a celeb was Big Boi’s red and blue Retro Air Jordan 8s. It was a fake widely seen by everyone on the Internet because Big Boi flexed them in an interview with CNN.com during a Sneaker Pimps convention in Atlanta. A month after he got caught wearing the fakes, Maurice Garland interviewed him about the sneakers he wore. Big Boi claimed he ordered them off the Internet around 2000 and that he paid $500 for them. “I ain’t really perpetuating fraud or nothing, I liked them because of the colors,” he said. He went on to clarify that he didn’t have money to wear OG Air Jordans 8s while he was growing up, so he was quick to buy a pair he thought was dope while he was on the come-up. On a 2020 episode of Full Size Run, Big Boi revisited the 8s and said his brother was actually the one who ordered them online for him. He also revealed those sneakers are still in his collection today and are cemented in Outkast’s own history. On the back of Outkast’s Speakerboxxx/The Love Below, Big Boi can be seen wearing them while standing on a set of speakers. While it would be embarrassing for most sneaker collectors to spend $500 on fugazi Jordans, Big Boi emphasized on FSR there’s more to life than what shoes he wears. “That album [Speakerboxxx/The Love Below] went on to sell 17 million copies,” he told Complex. “Fuck them shoes!” 

Kendrick Lamar’s Fu Game Air Jordan 12s

Kendrick Lamar is out here flexing on the ‘Gram in bootleg “Flu Game” Air Jordan 12s. 😂😭 pic.twitter.com/AzkzPuuveW

— Complex Sneakers (@ComplexSneakers) June 16, 2023
Twitter: @ComplexSneakers
When: 2023  

Big Boi isn’t the only rapper who’s fallen in love with a pair of blatantly fake Air Jordans. For his 37th birthday, Kendrick Lamar shared a fit pic of himself wearing fake “Flu Game” Air Jordan 12s on his Finsta page @jojoruski. “How im coming for my bday 🤫,” captioned Lamar. The “Flu Games'' are a coveted pair of black and red 12s that got their nickname after Michael Jordan wore them while scoring 38 points while he was sick during the fifth game of the 1997 NBA Finals. The original pair he wore during that game has sold for over $100,000 at auction. These “Flu Games” that Lamar wore probably ran him $20–$40 at whatever off-market sneaker store he picked these up from. While it’s clear K.Dot picked these up in jest, these are truly some embarrassingly bad knockoffs of an iconic Air Jordan.

Kendrick LamarAir JordanFake JordansFake SneakersBootleg ClothingBig BoiT PainRichard MilleSoulja BoyTekashi 6ix9ine6ix9ineBusta RhymesSupremeLouis VuittonJewelryDwyane WadeRick RossDiorGucciLil Baby

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