It began with a pair of quilted trousers - or maybe two different, though superficially similar, pairs of quilted trousers - (
Necklace). But by last night it had developed into the most acidic row to hit the world of fashion for more than 15 years.
Four of the style business's most illustrious names had become involved and at least one fashion journalist was referring to it as "trousergate".
Though the creators of fashion often complain of having their creations ripped off by High Street labels, it is highly unusual for a designer with a global reputation to point a finger at his or her peers. Yet on Sunday evening Giorgio Armani did just that
.
The doyen of Italy's fashionistas said that Dolce&Gabbana had "copied some trousers from the last [Armani] collection" - (
Burberry tote). His claim, which was last night strenuously denied by D&G, poured pure poison into the atmosphere at Milan's autumn-winter menswear fashion week.
Commentators attending the shows could not recall anything similar since the early 1990s, when Yves Saint Laurent successfully sued Ralph Lauren for copying a black tuxedo dress he had created 30 years earlier
.
