Paris court awards damages to Hedi Slimane for Kering's unlawful use of YSL images

Hedi Slimane is to be awarded 618,000 euros in damages after a Paris court ruled Kering unlawfully used his YSL photographs without consent.

The decision follows years of acrimonious legal disputes between the designer and parent company of YSL where Slimane was creative director from 2012 to 2016, who’s departure from the French luxury brand has been a messy and widely-publicised divorce.

Slimane, who is an established photographer as well as designer, lensed many of YSL’s campaigns, imagery that would normally be owned by the Maison, but usage would have been negotiated at the time of the contract signing and subsequently at the ending thereof. Questions about ownership and a designer’s rights once their contracts are terminated has been at the forefront of this legal battle.

Bloominger reports the ruling brings Slimane’s total courtroom winnings against Kering to more than 22 million dollars, with the latter payout stipulating YSL could use the material for two years after Slimane’s departure and that any further usage would need to be negotiated.

Slimane had initially been paid almost 8 million euros to shoot the material, cites Bloomberg, but the courts found 103 breaches where Kering should have paid an extensions for the use of his material.

Slimane originally sought 50,000 euros per extension, suing for a total of 5.15 million euros. In the final ruling the Paris court reduced the sum to 6,000 per incident.