Nothing left to do for Kering. The French multinational lost another battle of the war against Hedi Slimane. The divorce between the luxury group and the creative director currently at Celine didn’t just leave scars in court. The group is also having to spend money paying Celine’s creative director’s legal expenses.
Damages number 1
Kering was ordered by the Commercial Court of Paris, in June 2016, to pay 13 million USD to the ex-Yves Saint Laurent stylist (in charge from 2012 to 2016). Mr. Slimane took advantage of a non-compete clause at the end of its contract that tied him to the luxury group. Kering appealed, demanding the restitution of the sum given to Slimane. French agency France Presse writes that Paris’ court not only rejected Kering’s appeal, but also ordered the group to pay 40,000 euro to Slimane to cover for his legal costs.
Damages number 2
The same day (December 3rd), the same court closed another case that saw Kering and Slimane against one another. In this case as well, the latter got the better of the situation. This case was about events that took place in 2013, when, based on an agreement between the two parties, Slimane effectively became minority shareholder of Yves Saint Laurent, and thus had a right to access the brand’s financial info. When the two entities ended their engagement in 2016, Kering resolved the agreement. The stylist contested the decision taken and cited Kering in court. The judges define the operation as a “unilateral and irregular resolution”, confirming the validity of the agreement. This time as well, Kering could do nothing but pay Slimane’s legal expenses, equal to 50,000 euro.
There is more
The war in court doesn’t end here. There is a third case open between the two. The Court convicted Kering in 2018 and ordered the group to pay 9.3 million euro to cover for Slimane’s variable part of the stipend for the last year. The group appealed. Will it win this time?
Left: image from Shutterstock / right: Hedi Slimane (picture from excellencemagazine.luxury)
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