Gucci sues over branded hotel in Dubai

Things are getting catty on the catwalk. Elisabetta Gucci’s plans to open a global chain of hotels under the Gucci name may be blocked by the luxury fashion company. Seems Gucci – the goods – doesn’t want any affiliation with Gucci – the hotel.

“Gucci wants to make clear that it has no relationship to Elisabetta Gucci Hotels and that it is not involved in any project whatsoever with Elisabetta Gucci Hotels,” the company said in the e-mail, obtained by Bloomberg news. “If necessary, Gucci will take any needful step to protect its rights.”

Elisabetta Gucci, daughter of late fashion mogul Paolo Gucci, plans to open an 87-suite property in Dubai’s Media World district by the end of 2010, as Gadling previously reported. The Dubai hotel will be first of 40 planned Branded EG Hotels by Elisabetta Gucci.

The EG Hotels by Elisabetta Gucci is set to open only a few months after the famed opening of the Armani Group’s Armani Hotel Dubai in Burj Khalifa. According to Bloomberg, EB Hotels is counting on drastically lower hotel rates than those charged at Armani Hotel, in an effort to increase travelers. Daily rates at the Elisabetta Gucci’s hotel would start at 1,500 dirhams ($408) compared with 4,000 dirhams per night at Armani.

[via BusinessWeek.com]