PARIS (Reuters) – LVMH-owned Dior has withdrawn a request for 100,000 euros in compensation from rival fashion label Valentino for allegedly blocking access to its Rome store with a celebrity-packed runway show on the city’s Spanish Steps, a source told Reuters.
Citing a letter from Dior, the source familiar with the matter said the French label was backing down “in light of the friendly relationship between the two Maisons”.
Valentino designer Pierpaolo Piccioli drew a crowd of movie stars and fashion figures including Anne Hathaway, Anna Wintour, Naomi Campbell, Andrew Garfield and Kate Hudson with a haute couture show on July 8, sending models down the broad staircase, a major tourist hotspot, at dusk in sheer, shimmery gowns.
The performance lit up social networks around the globe, drawing praise from fans – and apparently frustration from Dior.
The source said Dior had fired off a first letter to Valentino shortly after the show, saying that clients were blocked from reaching the store, keeping it empty on a normally bustling Friday afternoon, but had now written the second note.
Valentino declined to comment. Dior did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
(Reporting by Silvia Aloisi and Mimosa Spencer; Editing by Alison Williams)
