What do you do when you feel that your work has been ripped off — not by another artist, or even another store, but by one of fashion’s most influential houses?
If you’re Carmen Colle, you file a $3.7 million lawsuit. The social-worker-turned-seamstress started her business, World Tricot, in 1987, with nothing but a crochet hook. Her vision? To employ & establish a sense of pride in some of the illiterate female refugees in the small town in eastern France where she lived. Like a fairytale, it all came true. World Tricot is one of the many suppliers that the large couture houses use to provide them with the intricate handiwork they use in their garments. Called petites mains, these suppliers work with feathers, beads, lace & crochet which are then used by the likes of Dior, Givenchy & Chanel. In 2005, World Tricot’s profits exceeded almost 3 million dollars.
