Not exactly Oxford Street or 5th Avenue, is it D&G?

A Hout Bay shop owner faces legal action from world famous Italian design house, Dolce & Gabbana, over her alleged “misuse” of the Italian brand by calling her small gift store, Dolce and Banana.

Legal representation for the Italian design house served the High Court in Cape Town with a 300-page affidavit claiming Mijou Beller was “making a mockery” of the Dolce & Gabbana brand, “diluting it”, and that she should rebrand her own store at once.

Not willing to take on such a behemoth of Italian fashion, Beller has rebranded her store to just Banana, and removed all the “Dolce and Banana” trade signage, after being warned on several occasions to do so.

Of course the Italian sense of humour failure doesn’t end there. As part of their settlement negotiations, D&G are pursuing R100 000 in legal costs from Beller, claiming she has been warned on this issue before.

Dolce & Gabbana’s local lawyer, Herman Blignaut of Spoor and Fisher, said Beller had been warned twice before the case went to court.

“The first warning was six years ago, which she simply ignored. I take my instructions from an Italian law firm that represents Dolce & Gabbana. The R100 000 forms part of the settlement negotiations, which are under way,” he said.

Beller said paying the R100 000 in legal fees would ruin her business.

“I would have to sell my house. We’ve got a small business, we’re not rich,” she said.

Beller said she had tried to contact Stefano Gabbana after he started following her on Twitter.

In a letter, she wrote: “Dear Stefano, please let us be. And visit us in Cape Town. I have always admired your famous sense of humour so present in your brand and in your designs. And although I appreciate that Dolce & Gabbana is a very successful commercial enterprise, I fail to understand why Dolce and Banana is a threat.”

In the affidavit, D&G also complained of Dolce and Banana’s association with local event, Hout Bay Fashion Week, claiming the brand association alone might cause “deception and confusion”.

[Source: News 24, Times LIVE]