LIZ QUIN and Carolyn Donnelly, the duo behind the eponymous Irish fashion label, are to suspend trading for an indefinite period due to a legal dispute over their trademark.
The dispute concerns the trademark name Quin & Donnelly, which was registered as their business name years ago, but not as a trademark.
In a statement, the partners said that when they applied to register their trademark last year, their Irish manufacturer objected, claiming a share in the mark.
There was no one available yesterday for comment from Sonole Designs, their manufacturer in Donegal, with whom Quin and Donnelly have worked for the past eight years. The dispute, now before the Patents Office, may take six months to resolve and no collections can be produced until this happens.
“It is an unfortunate situation which I think everyone involved regrets,” said Donnelly yesterday.
“But we cannot produce any more collections until the office of trademarks reaches a decision. It is particularly regrettable because we have been one of the best-selling concessions in Brown Thomas over the past few years despite the recession.”
Their spring/summer collection will be the last from the team for the time being and their concession in the store will close at the end of the season.
Quin & Donnelly is one of Ireland’s best-known and most successful fashion design partnerships, founded when the pair were fashion students more than 30 years ago.
Their affordable collections, aimed at working women, have been stocked in Brown Thomas for the past 16 years, as well as in House of Fraser stores in the UK.