Fashion Faux Pas: Marc Jacobs' President Accused of Sexual Shenanigans
We get it -- he's a numbers guy, a grey dove among the peacocks of the fashion world. But can you fault Marc Jacobs International's former COO for filing a suit when he claims a day in the working life of the design house included all manner of sexual shenanigans?
The lawsuit accuses MJI's president Robert Duffy of "displaying gay pornography in the office and requiring employees to look at it; production and dissemination of a book which includes photos of MJI staff in sexual positions or nude; [and] his requirement that an MJI store employee perform a pole dance for him."
Color and creativity aside, fashion is a business -- and as such, even dandies and divas need to display professional conduct. That Marc Jacobs International is under the auspicious umbrella of France's luxury conglomerate LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton should suggest that operations and policies are held in stricter regard than those at indie designers' ateliers. Clearly, they aren't.
Background to the suit
Patrice Lataillade began his career with LVMH in May 1996 in Paris and, after working with LVMH subsidiary Donna Karan in New York, became CFO of MJI in 2002. He was promoted to COO in 2006. This past September, Lataillade reached the breaking point and dispatched his attorney to send email complaints to MJI's CEO and LVMH "summarizing the legal situation and the hostile environment." In less than a week, Lataillade was relieved of his duties and his $1 million a year salary.
In sharp contrast to its swift sack of Dior designer John Galliano, who was dismissed for spouting anti-Semitic slurs at patrons of a Paris bar, LVMH is siding with Robert Duffy. A spokesperson told WWD:
The allegations contained in the complaint are false. Patrice Lataillade was terminated as chief financial officer and chief operating officer of MJI for serious matters unrelated to the allegations contained in the complaint. MJI, LVMH Inc. and Robert Duffy will vigorously defend the case in court.What these serious matters are have yet to be revealed. However, Duffy's a controversial figure, having already drawn plenty of criticism for his chronic oversharing on Twitter. When he turned the tweeting over to an MJI intern, the young person quickly unleashed a series of tweets (now deleted) about Duffy's tyrannical regime. Whoever scrubbed MJI's Twitter feed missed a few including, "@MarcJacobsIntl Marc Jacobs Intl "Oh no! Robert wants to change around all the stores on Bleeker St. NYC. Again! Your guess is as good as ours. He's gonna drive us all crazy!"
There's oversharing, and then there's oversharing
But driving staff to redecorate stores is mild stuff compared to sexual harassment. Lataillade's lawsuit states that Duffy's inappropriate behavior was so well-known that MJI's human resources department drew up a sexual harassment policy last year. No one got the memo, however, "because of a concern that it would anger Duffy," who co-founded the company with Jacobs, according to the suit.
Even if Duffy is cleared of these charges, LVMH has some damage control ahead of it, starting with an analysis of its corporate HR policies -- and making the general public aware of its position.
The global company proudly touts the independence of its brands. All the more reason to have a unified set of policies in place, so employees in all parts of the world can understand exactly what's expected. It's a fine, but necessary, balance for a multi-billion dollar corporation that hired 18,000 employees in 2010 alone.
Image via Marc Jacobs
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