Designer to settle case with fashion house Balenciaga

PARIS, France - Designer Nicolas Ghesquiere and the fashion house Balenciaga are to settle a $9.5 million breach of contract case out of court, legal representatives for both sides told AFP Wednesday.

Ghesquiere - considered one of the fashion world's most talented designers and now women's design director at Louis Vuitton - was being sued by his former employer over comments he made after leaving the company in 2012.

Representatives of both sides on Wednesday agreed to reach an out-of-court settlement, Balenciaga's lawyer Thierry Levy and a member of staff at the law firm representing Ghesquiere told AFP.

Balenciaga had accused Ghesquiere of breaking the terms of his contract in remarks he made as part of a series of interviews he gave to London-based fashion magazine System.

Ghesquiere, who was appointed creative director at the historic fashion house of Spanish designer Cristobal Balenciaga in 1997, had been credited with putting it back on the fashion map during his 15-year tenure.

But after "differences" between the designer and the fashion house came to a head in late 2012, the company agreed to pay Ghesquiere $8.8 million (6.7 million euros) in compensation for terminating his contract.

In return, Ghesquiere agreed not to say anything that could harm the reputation of his former employer or its parent company, French multinational Kering, according to court documents.

In December 2012, however, two weeks after the end of his contract, Ghesquiere gave the first of his interviews to System, which Balenciaga claimed "constituted a direct attack".

The civil court in Paris had given both sides a Wednesday deadline by which to agree to settle through mediation.

If they had not agreed to do so, the court would have issued a ruling in the case.