New twist in Trelise's fashion fracas

Trelise Cooper says she will not use her Hong Kong-based supplier again. Photo / Herald on Sunday

A top European designer says he's shocked and amazed that a motif almost identical to one that he designed has ended up on a Trelise Cooper top at New Zealand Fashion Week.

After Herald on Sunday gossip writer Rachel Glucina highlighted the similarities, Cooper has pulled the style from her range. Cooper said she had never seen Markus Lupfer's design, or met Lupfer, and suggested that her Hong Kong knitwear supplier may have sold the same red satin ribbon embroidered motif to both designers this year.

She will not use the supplier again.

London-based Markus Lupfer, designer for the UK's biggest fashion chain, Topshop, said he created it from scratch.

The latest twist in the saga came as Cooper opened her new clothing store in Sydney's elegant Woollahra yesterday.

Topshop will open a flagship Australian store on Oxford St in neighbouring Paddington next month.

Lupfer said he had designed his version of the jersey a full year-and-a-half before Cooper's show, and had not bought the motif from China but had created it from scratch.

"Wow, this is quite something - very, very cheeky," he wrote to a reporter for this paper.

"This jumper was actually designed and developed last year for Topshop."

He reserved his position on taking action.

"I am amazed that this jumper is exactly the same and seems like they have not changed one thing," he said.

"I am not sure what we are going to do and I do need to check with my team."

Later his public relations advisers said the jersey's design and colour-way (colour combination) was developed exclusively for Topshop in early 2008, and went on sale in September that year.

It had been very popular, and the company had manufactured a second version in black and silver this year, which hit shop floors in July.

"At Markus Lupfer we develop our designs from scratch, and we never source embroideries through any of our suppliers.

Trelise Cooper's chief executive, Alex Brandon, said he had not seen the Topshop jersey until the Herald on Sunday published a picture of it last week. Cooper had not seen it either.

Brandon said the sweaters were "completely different" but acknowledged the similarity between the embroidered motifs. He said the company would not use the Hong Kong knitwear supplier again.

"The truth of the matter is a supplier comes to us with an idea," he said.

"Trelise likes it, puts it on the runway ... clearly the bow is similar."

Despite her turbulent week, Cooper launched her own fragrance, Trelise, with champagne and canapes at her Quay St store in downtown Auckland on Wednesday, before flying to Sydney on Friday.

Cooper's brand is well known: clients have included Hollywood stars Julia Roberts, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Lindsay Lohan, Liv Tyler and Miley Cyrus.

Even Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes' daughter Suri has been seen in Boston wearing a Trelise Cooper Kids skirt.

Cooper has been anxious to protect that brand from any perceived copycats: she took Arrowtown designer Tamsin Cooper to court, concerned that her trading name was too similar.

The matter was settled out of court after a 20-month legal wrangle, and Tamsin Cooper is still trading under her own name.