Azzedine Alaia drafts in lawyers over Cavalli ‘copying’

Azzedine Alaia has accused Roberto Cavalli of copying one of his designs.
The Tunisian-born designer has been in the fashion industry since the 1960s and has made a name for himself as one of Hollywood’s favourite names, with Lady Gaga, Katie Holmes and Rihanna all sporting his creations in the past.
He also created a dress for Tina Turner back in 1985 and claims that Cavalli was more than a little inspired by the design for his latest offering.
“When designers appropriate ideas from others and journalists don’t say anything at all, it’s not right. For example, this season with Roberto Cavalli, it’s incredible and journalists, nobody, has noticed a direct copy of my 1985 dress that Tina Turner wore,” Azzedine told WWD. “People told me not to say anything. Everybody has forgotten, even Herve Leger with the bandage dresses. Now it’s become a summer special for them, and nobody says anything. Journalists shoot it. Although typically, no, they should refuse to shoot when it’s things like these.”
While some level of inspiration is natural among designers, Azzedine is furious by what he claims is a blatant copy. So much so that he has even involved his legal team in a bid to sort the situation.
“It’s with the lawyers now,” he said. “And there’s another Italian, he has copied everything, everything, everything I do. We sued him a while ago and he did it again. It’s not good. You have to take action because it’s not right.”
One reason Azzedine gets so annoyed by these issues is because he has such an involvement in his collections – from the creation of the items to delivering them to buyers.
“There are very few of us in the studio. I have only two assistants, there is nobody else and I do a lot of things myself, especially all the fittings,” he explained. “I don’t just give the drawings and leave. The truth is, I work more than all the others. That’s the difference. I don’t do eight collections, but I’m implicated in everything from the beginning to the end. I even control the deliveries, I look at the stores, what’s working, what’s not.”