Gosh, the pressure to be fashionable has never been so heated as now, with Rick Ross facing the wrath of fashion bosses - for allegedly wearing a pair of fake Louis Vuitton sunglasses for a recent photoshoot.
Ross appeared on the cover of U.S. magazine XXL wearing a pair of Louis Vuitton branded shades - but executives at the design house claim the glasses are not real and have criticised the star for endorsing counterfeit goods.
Company bosses have written an open letter to Ross and magazine chiefs, slamming the decision to publish a photo of the rapper wearing the suspicious shades; the letter from Louis Vuitton Malletier Michael D. Pantalony reads, "We were dismayed to see the cover of the May 2009 issue of XXL Magazine, which features a photo of Rick Ross wearing a pair of sunglasses prominently featuring counterfeit Louis Vuitton trademarks.
"The sunglasses Mr. Ross is wearing were not made by Louis Vuitton, and in fact, are counterfeit. Louis Vuitton did not grant permission to Mr. Ross or to whoever did make the sunglasses to use our trademarks. The second is that no affiliation, sponsorship or association exists between Rick Ross or XXL and Louis Vuitton. The third is that counterfeiting is illegal."
Bosses at Louis Vuitton are notoriously protective of their brand and won a legal battle last year (08) to stop stars featuring their products in promotional material such as music videos.
Rappers T.I. and Da Brat have both come under fire from the fashion house in the past, as well as pop star Britney Spears.
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