The new administrators of financially troubled Itierre SPa are now suing designer Roberto Cavelli over his comments that they would be unable to turn the company around.
The administrators, who were appointed last month after Ittierre filed for bankruptcy protection under the Italian equivalent of Chapter 11, stated Saturday they had tasked their lawyers with "protecting Ittierre SpA regarding industrial, economic and image damages derived from Mr. Roberto Cavalli's repeated comments in reference to the Just Cavalli license and the activity of the administrators themselves."
They added that Cavalli's decision to cancel his Just Cavalli fall '09 show last week was "unilateral" and "unjustified with serious prejudice to Ittierre's image" and underlined that the Gianfranco Ferre, C'N'C Costume National and Galliano shows were taking place in Milan and Paris.
On Thursday, Roberto Cavalli, whose Just Cavalli label is Ittierre's biggest license, generating annual revenues in 2007 of around 240 million euros, or $329 million, blamed the disruption at Ittierre for his decision to cancel the young line's runway show, citing delays and substandard production. He opted for a presentation of 20 outfits at Just Cavalli's showroom instead.
Cavalli also said he was prepared to take Just Cavalli's production in-house if necessary, saying he doubted the administrators ability to turn Ittierre around.
What a mess. We don't know a thing about Italian bankruptcy law, but we find it hard to believe that Cavalli is prohibited from giving his opinion about the administrators' competency. The bankrupt firm also owns the licenses to the Galliano, VJC Versace, and Versace Sport labels and has just gotten $35 million in interim funding to keep the company going.
