Irish assistant at ‘Vogue’ accused of $50,000 theft

A FORMER assistant of acclaimed model and former ‘Vogue’ creative director Grace Coddington has been arrested after she was accused of stealing more than $50,000 (€42,870) from her past employer.

Yvonne Bannigan, originally from Dublin, allegedly rang up $53,564 (€45,925) in unauthorised purchases on the former editor’s credit card.

Ms Bannigan is also accused of selling a number of Ms Coddington’s possessions on the online consignment store The Real Real and keeping $9,000 (€7,716) worth of commission to herself.

The 25-year-old was arrested in April and is set to deny the charges, her lawyer said.

According to her LinkedIn page, the Dublin native was a freelance assistant at ‘Vogue’ a year before she worked directly for the 77-year-old fashion legend. She also worked as an intern at ‘Elle’ magazine.

Ms Bannigan’s lawyer Michael Cornacchia told the Irish Independent that prosecutors are investigating the facts and weighing whether a case will be presented to the grand jury.

“Yvonne has not been formally charged. Her arrest was premised on a complaint, which is a type of ‘holding’ device whereby a person becomes subject to the court’s jurisdiction, the primary purpose of which is ensure the person does not leave the jurisdiction until the investigation is resolved.

“Yvonne has maintained her innocence and we have met with the prosecutors and presented facts which we assert weigh against the lodging of formal charges.

“In the event the prosecutors present the case to the grand jury and Yvonne is indicted by this body, she intends to plead not guilty and vigorously fight the charges at a trial.”

Mr Cornacchia added that people inside and outside the fashion industry have expressed messages of support for Ms Bannigan and “have never wavered in their belief in her innocence”.