The lawsuit involving Balenciaga and their former head designer, Nicolas Ghesquière, is moving from the courtroom to mediation. The French court was going to originally hand down its decision today, but at the suggestion of the president of the Tribunal de Grande Instance, the parties have decided to settle out of court.
The lawsuit involves Balenciaga suing Ghesquière for defamation and violation of a clause in their separation agreement — signed by both parties at the time of Ghesquière’s departure — which stated that the designer was prohibited from making any disparaging remarks about the fashion house.
Balenciaga is claiming that the remarks that Ghesquière made in an interview with British fashion magazine, System, were disparaging to Balenciaga and defamed the French fashion house. The designer was quoted in the interview comparing the house of Balenciaga to Chanel and Prada, claiming that while the designers of those brands had business partners who helped to build the brands to the massive fashion houses that they are, he “never had a partner” and “was doing everything by myself.”
