Row over Willow heading to court

THE stoush between Willow designer Kit Podgornik and the company that purchased her label looks to end up in court.

THE stoush between Willow designer Kit Podgornik and the company that purchased her label in 2011, The Apparel Group, looks destined to end up in court with sources adamant the designer has been gagged by the company to prevent her from talking to the media about her departure from the label she founded.

A day after Confidential revealed the Willow designer had retreated from the brand in mysterious circumstances a Facebook page called The Truth About Willow was established to support the designer and dispute claims the designer was willingly "stepping back" from her label.

By yesterday the page, not yet 24 hours old, had been taken down.

One supporter had written that reports Podgornik and Apparel had come to an "agreement" about her departure were a "dark dark lie"

A spokeswoman for Apparel CEO Daniel Bracken yesterday refused to elaborate on talk Podgornik was "pushed" from her label three weeks ago.

A stonewall "no comment" was all the representative would say when asked if the parties were engaged in legal action. She added: "It's business as usual and, at this point in time, there's nothing further to say."

One supporter of th designer was begging friends and fans to reconsider buying Willow products until the matter had been resolved.

"She has poured her heart and soul into the Willow brand, that she has built from scratch and dedicated her life to for over 10 years," said one supporter.

"We are all fans of her work and know how incredibly talented she is. She is not taking this lightly or without a fight."

Podgornik launched her label to acclaim in 2003 and was immediately billed as one of the leading lights of the Australian fashion scene for what was widely described as her "feminine edgy" style.