Riccardo Tisci, a former creative director at Givenchy and Burberry and whose name continues to emerge when jobs in the top industry are opened, was accused of sexual assault in a state lawsuit filed in New York this week.
Patrick Cooper, 35, said in the lawsuit that he was assaulted last June after meeting Tishi at a Manhattan nightclub last June. Cooper said he and Tishi went with one other acquaintance to an East Harlem soul food restaurant called the Two-Sisters and Four-Sibling Restaurant and Lounge. Cooper said that Tisi, 50, is slipping into his drink, “so much disgusting that he doesn't know where he's no longer around,” and others in particular do him.
Cooper said he woke up naked in Tisi's Soho apartment, naked next to him and he was sexually assaulted.
A spokesman for Tishi said in a statement: “These allegations are decisively untrue, and Riccardo looks forward to clearing the names of these false and malicious accusations.
News of the 11-page lawsuit filed in the New York Supreme Court was first reported by Independence.
Tishi, famous for his close celebrity friendships with others like Kim Kardashian and Naomi Campbell, left his role as creative director for British luxury brand Burberry in 2022 after at the helm for almost five years. He previously was in House Givenchy, France from 2005 to 2017. His name was recently linked to a top job at Versace, which Prada bought last month. Instead, Donatella Versace was replaced by Dario Vitale in April.
In the lawsuit, Cooper said he went to the hospital the following morning after his interaction with Tishi and later submitted a police report. According to the lawsuit, Tisi blames Cooper for assault, battery, false imprisonment, intentional violations of emotional distress and intentional violations of New York's gender-motivated violence law. Cooper is seeking damages from Tisi for a decision to be made in court.
“I went out to have a perfect night,” Cooper said in an interview with the Independent. “My intention was never to reach Riccardo Tisi's bed. I remember sipping my drink. I remember nothing else. To this day, I still don't remember anything.”
Cooper's attorneys did not immediately respond to requests for further comment.
The fashion industry has been shaken by a series of sexual assaults and exploitation scandals in recent years, and has been accused by other notable figures, including photographers Mario Testino and Bruce Weber and fashion designer Alexander Wang.
