Is British Vogue the latest addition to Prada's shit list?
In its defamation countersuit against Rina Bovrisse, the former Prada employee who sued the brand for sexual harassment, Prada cites as evidence an article from British Vogue's website about the UN's response to Bovrisse's case. This Vogue story was a summation of an originally reported story published previously on BuzzFeed Fashion. Both stories describe how the UN, in response to Bovrisse's story, recommended Japan introduce legislation that would make sexual harassment a punishable offense.
In 2009, Bovrisse sued Prada for discrimination and sexual harassment — and has been locked in a legal tussle with the brand ever since. Prada counter-sued Bovrisse for $780,000, accusing her of damaging its image through statements made to the media about the lawsuit. A Change.org petition urging Prada to drop the suit has accrued more than 211,000 signatures at the time of this writing. After the Change.org petition launched, Bovrisse presented her case to the UN's High Commissioner for Human Rights, which expressed support for her position.
An English translation of the court document citing the British Vogue story as evidence was provided to BuzzFeed Fashion by a representative for Change.org. It reads:
While Prada refuses to drop its case against Bovrisse, pressure only mounts on social media. Prada's Facebook page is being flooded with statements of support for Bovrisse from around the world. Here are just three of the dozens you'll find there.
The longer Prada lets this case drag on, the longer they give Bovrisse and her supporters to tell the media about how cruel the brand is. Besides, if they want to fully control their image, which they claim Bovrisse has damaged so very much, they'll have to get off social media — and convince everyone with something against the company to do the same.