Alexander McQueen defends itself against royal wedding dress accusations
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British fashion house Alexander McQueen is defending itself against accusations made by an English bridal designer that the wedding gown wore by the Duchess of Cambridge was based on her sketches.
Christine Kendall, a bridal designer based by Hertfordshire, has mounted a lawsuit against Alexander McQueen as she claims her ideas were used to create the famous wedding gown worn by the Duchess when she was wed to Prince William. Kendall has accused the British fashion house of breach of copyright in a claim filed at the Intellectual Property Enterprise Court in London, according to the Sunday Times. Kendall’s lawyer argues in the claim that her designs were “unfairly taken and copied by” the fashion house, who in turn firmly deny the accusation.
The famous gown, which features an ivory satin bodice, was designed by Sarah Burton and handmade in Alexander McQueen’s studio in London and kept hidden until the big day on April 29, 2011. Kendall maintains that the fashion house copied sketches she submitted for the Duchess wedding gown nearly five years ago.
“Proceedings have been issued because our client is certain that her company’s design was unfairly taken and copied,” said Kendall’s solicitor Humna Nadim, of the Manchester law firm Kuits to the Sunday Times. “This claim is not against the duchess and there is no allegation of wrongdoing against the palace.”
A spokesperson for Alexander McQueen has responded to be claims, saying the fashion house was “utterly baffled” by the lawsuit. “Christine Kendall first approached us, at Alexander McQueen, almost four years ago, when we were clear with her that any suggestion Sarah Burton’s design of the royal wedding dress was copied from her designs was nonsense,” said the spokesperson to WWD.
“Sarah Burton never saw any of Ms. Kendall’s designs or sketches and did not know of Ms. Kendall before Ms. Kendall got in touch with us — some 13 months after the wedding. We do not know why Ms. Kendall has raised this again, but there are no if’s, buts or maybes here: This claim is ridiculous.”
Photos: Replica of gown by Infomatique, Flickr