FASHION DESIGNER VERA WANG SUED FOR $2.5 MILLION BY HAWAIIN BOUTIQUE PARTNER FOR LOWER COST LINES

VERA WANG

Celebrated wedding gown maker Vera Wang says a custom-tailored lawsuit made for her two years ago doesn’t fit. The designer, whose wedding wear has been touted by hit shows including “Sex and the City” and “Ugly Betty,” is the target of a $2.5 million fraud and breach of contract claim now heating up in New York State Supreme Court.

A 2012 complaint, filed by Hawaiian retailer Gemmon LLC, alleged Wang devalued her company’s good name by expanding into low-end markets, which led to the January 2008 closure of Gemmon’s Wang-centric boutique in Honolulu.

Gemmon claims it had agreed to sell only Wang-branded merchandise, including Wang’s Ready to Wear clothing collection and Rosy Blue accessories.

Sources has learned that in a brand new request for dismissal, Vera Wang Bridal House Ltd. (VWBH), says the divorce came about because of Gemmon LLC’s mismanagement.

VWBH’s defense states in a brand new motion for summary judgment that “plaintiff’s owner, Donna Bebber, had no experience running a boutique.” It also says that she hired her daughter, “who was as inexperienced as her mother in operating a retail store,” as a manager.

VWBH calls Gemmon’s claims “an attempt to shift blame to a well-known defendant.”

In 2005, Gemmon signed a five-year agreement to sell Wang designs at a new shop in Honolulu’s high-end Halekulani Hotel. The hotel even opened a romantic Vera Wang honeymoon suite — allegedly styled by Wang personally — to raise visibility.

Less than halfway through the boutique’s lease, Bebber’s store was out of business. The hotel rebranded the Wang suite as the Halekulani suite after the boutique closed.

Gemmon complained that its ability to operate as an exclusive Wang retailer in Hawaii was compromised when Wang devalued the worth of its own brand by entering into an agreement with Kohl’s department store to exclusively sell “Simply Vera,” an accessories line with lower prices than Rosy Blue.

Wang later reached deals with other retailers like Costco and David’s Bridal, which also made the designer’s high-profile goods more accessible to consumers on smaller budgets.

VWBH's motion argues that nothing in the contract with Gemmon prevented it from entering into deals with other retailers and claims that the Kohl's line didn't even debut until the Gemmon store was already on the brink of closing.

Gemmon says that when her company reached out to VWBH to help organize a trunk show to boost sales in late 2007, it was not given new merchandise, and that VWBH allegedly said no shipments would be made because of an outstanding balance on Gemmon’s account.