A knitwear designer from a tiny Scottish island with a population of just 55 won an apology and credit from Chanel after the global fashion house copied one of her jumpers.
Mati Ventrillon, 42, a French-Venezuelan designer, has lived on Fair Isle, 80 miles off the mainland of Scotland halfway between the Shetland and Orkney islands, since 2007.
Her studio was visited by two Chanel staff touring the islands and researching the famous Fair Isle knitwear patterns. They bought several jumpers for research purposes and Miss Ventrillon was surprised to then see her design appear on a catwalk model standing alongside Karl Lagerfeld, Chanel’s head designer.
The show, Chanel’s Métiers d’Art in Rome this month, honours the work of artisan craftsmen and women.
Miss Ventrillon