The designer behind Greek Australian actress Ada Nicodemou’s Logies red carpet look, Steven Khalil has come under fire amid accusations that he copied the design.
Australian couturier Jason Grech took to social media on Monday morning, claiming that Nicodemou’s dress was a replica of his gold ‘Diana’ dress worn by Sophie Monk at the awards night.
“I have to call this out! A stylist asked to borrow the DIANA dress (worn by Sophie) for the Logies for their client Ada. I couldn’t accomodate the request because it had Sophie’s name all over it. How shameful that he thought it was ok to replicate. If you’re going to replicate my work, the least you can do is make it better. DISGUSTING BEHAVIOUR,” Grech’s Facebook post read, accompanied by an image of Monk and Nicodemou side-by-side.
But Khalil has denied the claim.
“We made a custom piece for Ada and we chatted about what we wanted to achieve – the usual couture process,” a spokesman said on behalf of Khalil, who is showing his work at Paris Couture Week.
“We had a pattern for this style and its variations for many years and tailored it to suit what our client felt was best for her event. Steven felt that Ada should have a ‘Goddess’ moment.”
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The stylist also issued a statement denying the accusations.
“When Ada and I first met, we agreed to do a modern golden Grecian Goddess style dress.
“Gold and high splits are both really popular trends at the moment as we saw on the red carpet. Designer Steven Khalil based Ada’s dress on a design that he is about to show from an upcoming collection, created in gold for Ada.”
According to Grech, his ‘Diana’ dress had been made for his Virgin Australia Melbourne Fashion Festival (VAMFF) show in March, with images of the dress widely available, having done the rounds on social media.
“What upset me is it’s disrespectful,” Grech told Fairfax.
“I was very thankful that Sophie looked incredible but it’s disrespectful to have someone replicate your work in your backyard.”
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