Dress designer to the stars fails to pay £100,000 Belgravia rent

THE transparent dress that Meghan Markle wore in her engagement its designer, Michael Russo, apparently can’t afford to pay his rent.photos (below) cost a staggering £56,000. But I can disclose that the former Australian banker, who was one half of Mayfair couturiers Ralph & Russo, has three county court judgments against him, totalling almost £100,000 for rent arrears on his flat in Eaton Place, the Belgravia address where classic television drama Upstairs Downstairs was set.

The first judgment was for £46,741, issued in August 2020, the second was for £12,687 in November of the same year, and the third was for £40,522 in February 2021. The property is believed to be owned by a Russian entity based offshore.

The judgments are just the latest in a string of financial woes for Russo and his former business and romantic partner, Tamara Ralph, who set up their label in London in 2010.

Their couture dresses studded with crystals, feathers, iridescent metallic features and floorsweeping trains, attracted famous clients including Gwyneth Paltrow, Angelina Jolie, and Beyonce. However, the business went into administration last year, with Ralph blaming ‘unprecedented trading conditions throughout the pandemic’ which had ‘put a tremendous strain on our business and retailers across the world’.

The pair have been accused in court papers of using the fashion house to fund their lavish lifestyles, with allegations that the company’s pension pot was raided before it went into administration.

Ralph, who is being sued by the firm via its administrators for £20.8 million in damages, has strenuously denied those allegations. She was also accused of instructing staff who were on furlough to redecorate two luxury homes that she shares with her super-rich boyfriend, Bhanu Choudhrie.

She alleged in court documents that Russo had launched a campaign of ‘bullying, harassment and abuse’ against her.

She says her romantic relationship with him ended in 2017 and that their professional relationship ‘steadily deteriorated from 2019 as a result of Russo’s discrimination, abuse, harassment and bullying’.

My disclosure will raise fears that property developer Nick Candy, who is suing Russo after investing £22.5million in the company, may struggle to get his money back. Russo could not be reached for comment.