Everyone comes second to the Royals.
A rich real estate exec who hired popular Soho House interior decorator Vicky Charles to renovate her Hamptons homes and Manhattan apartment claims the designer ditched her for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.
Charles admitted being too focused on her work overseas before “walking off the job,” claims Andrea Olshan, CEO of Olshan Properties, in a Manhattan Supreme Court lawsuit. Then the designer to the stars allegedly refused to refund the $239,000 she’d already been paid for the half-million-dollar gig.
Charles was reportedly hired by Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in the spring to renovate Frogmore Cottage outside London before the arrival of Baby Archie.
The pair are big fans of Charles, who is known for the rustic chic look of such venues as Soho Farmhouse, which features reclaimed wood and copper tubs.
The $3 million renovation of Frogmore, a 200-year-old country estate, included improved security, cameras, security windows, a “mood screen” and stereo system which can be controlled by the couple’s smartphones, along with an “eco boiler” and special vegan paint in the nursery.
Archie’s room is reportedly “gender neutral” and features a gray and white color scheme with paint infused with rosemary and eucalyptus oils, according to The Sun.
But while Charles, who has also worked for George and Amal Clooney, was fixated on the Royals, her work for Olshan was nonexistent, according to the lawsuit.
Olshan brought Charles in to help create a “move-in ready product” out of a newly constructed 12,000-square-foot East Hamptons home — where the decorator was supposed to attend to every detail, including linens, cutlery and place settings.
Charles, who claims to “work directly with every client,” was also hired to reconfigure and “reinvigorate” parts of Olshan’s Manhattan apartment, and “refresh” another East Hamptons house, but allegedly farmed the work out to underlings fresh out of design school.
After a year of work Charles failed to deliver “even a simple color scheme” and often “did little more than have Charles & Co. staff members repackage internet images that Ms. Olshan had provided them as style inspiration.”
“Instead, Ms. Charles, by all appearances, began to separate herself from the project, upon information and belief, to work for more ‘A-List’ clients such as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex,” Olshan claims in court papers.
The designer was “entirely apologetic” and “chalked it up to her business overseas.” But instead of refocusing on the project, Charles simply quit the next day, Olshan charges in court papers.
A rep for Charles declined comment, and claimed the designer is required by contract not to discuss clients.
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