Gucci treated a top saleswoman who sold $50 million worth of designer goods like a slave, mocking her age and bullying her until she withered away and her hair fell out, a lawsuit alleges.

Tracy Cohen worked for eighteen years as a customer advisor sales associate for Gucci’s Chicago store on Michigan Avenue. She sold more than $50 million worth of goods, including $5 million in 2021 alone. But in October 2023, she was fired without severance.

Cohen, 54, claims she was discriminated against because of her age and that bosses favored those under 40. She also claims she was targeted because of her gender and disability: anxiety and depression.

She was told she was “crazy” and “old” because she complained about working 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Cohen says she has been denied thousands of commissions to punish her for filing a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the Illinois Human Rights Division.

In the complaint, Cohen alleged that Gucci’s top boss ignored her pleas. When she went to her manager and human resources, hoping to finally get help, she was told she had been suspended and was “being investigated.”

The lawsuit against Kering, Gucci, Gucci, Gucci America, Inc. and Gucci North American Holdings was filed on January 22, 2024 in the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division.

The lawsuit alleges that “during her employment, Gucci, instead of wooing her with recognition and giving her opportunities for success, instead consumed nearly every second of her life and exploited her through a modern-day slavery program of psychological abuse, manipulation and discrimination.” with her collaborators – Gucci and Kering – destroying her sense of self and putting her in constant fear of losing her job.”

Cohen was hired by Gucci in 2006. In 2018, she became the number one salesperson at Gucci Chicago, surpassing at least twenty other sales associates. She was responsible for 15 percent of the store’s entire monthly quota.

In 2021 – the year she moved $5 million worth of goods – she received a bonus of just $20,000, it is claimed.

According to the complaint, Gucci and Kering devised an elaborate scheme of deception to induce Cohen to sell more Gucci products while she remained in fear of losing her job.

“Defendants controlled nearly all aspects of Plaintiff’s life by isolating her from society, requiring her to work 24 hours a day while connected to her electronic sales equipment, making negative comments about her age and mental health, and giving her a monthly sales quota that was nearly two to three times the quota of her peers,” the complaint said.

When she was suspended, something that has never happened in her 18-year career, she was told she was “under investigation.”

The company continued to punish her, telling her she could still sell from home during the five-day suspension. But bosses banned her from speaking to any of her co-workers while she was “under investigation,” further isolating, traumatizing and bullying her, the lawsuit alleges.

The lawsuit alleges that co-workers confided in her that they witnessed the suspects assaulting her, but never came to her aid. Instead, they watched her physically deteriorate,” the complaint said.

A male employee under the age of 40 told him, “Why don’t you just quit,” after watching her manager bully her, according to the complaint.

She was also denied an assistant to help her manage her excessive workload, according to the complaint.

“Plaintiff continued to work under exploitative conditions as her hair fell out, and as she visibly wasted away to skin and bones, suffering the physical manifestation of Defendants’ disparate treatment of her,” the complaint said.

While in the top position, she continually told her superiors that she was suffering from exhaustion, anxiety and depression, and that their behavior was exacerbating her disabilities.”

When she confronted both Gucci and Kering, she claimed the managers had bullied her. When she asked to be transferred to another store, they refused, while transferring younger, non-disabled, less successful colleagues to other locations.

In September 2022, when she went to then-president and CEO of Gucci, Marco Bizzarri, who had reportedly created a “values ​​framework” dedicated to women’s rights and equality in the workplace, hoping she would listen to him, the lawsuit that he ignored it.

“President Bizzarri ignored Plaintiff, the female employee who generated nearly $50 million in revenue for Gucci and Kering during her nearly 18-year career,” the lawsuit said.

Cohen claims in the lawsuit that she was excluded from prestigious opportunities, and that she felt guilty when she tried to take time off. One such instance was when her father was dying and she had to care for him, she claimed.

In March 2022, when She was asked to nominate a dear customer for Billie Eilish concert tickets. Management told her her customer choice was too old, according to a letter reviewed by DailyMail.com.

“I believe the business community is looking for Gen Z or Millennial customers – he could be a good fit for Elton John,” the letter said in part.

The lawsuit also details Gucci’s alleged abusive and exploitative labor practices around the world. Cohen says Gucci officials maintained sweatshop conditions in China, forced pregnant women to have abortions and ignored sexual harassment complaints.

She further highlighted the luxury goods giant’s alleged decision to push new mothers out of their jobs, leaving women suffering from incontinence, calling women “crazy” and forcing female models to wear straitjackets against their will on the catwalk.

Cohen’s attorney Tamara Holder told DailyMail.com that “they fired her because she spoke out.”

“We’re highlighting Tracy’s case, but other women are coming forward. We look forward to the opportunity to showcase how these fashion brands treat women in the workplace.

“We have had other women come forward – high-achieving women – from other locations,” she added.

Holder said the first interaction she had with the lawyers was a “threat” and plans to litigate it in court.

“The threat was that they demanded I drop the human trafficking charges from the lawsuit and threatened me with sanctions if I didn’t do so.”

Holder said that since the story broke, five additional women from the Seattle area, Houston and California have come forward.

Holder said: ‘All from various Gucci retail locations across the country with virtually identical claims.’

SPRING may have arrived, but disgruntled shoppers thought Free People’s latest micro shorts let in a little too much wind.

They shared their disbelief and grievances over the brand’s latest campaign launch.

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Free People announced their new design in a Instagram post.

“We’re wearing micro shorts this season. Link in bio to shop the styles,” they wrote.

The denim shorts were available in multiple washes, from light blue to medium to black, and in a range of styles.

One had side cutouts for extra flair, which the model paired with a thick belt for pizzazz.

A medium wash style had extra layers of denim fabric over the pockets as if it were a ruffled skirt.

A third was geometrically shaped and resembled a pair of swimming trunks, but in denim form.

However, they were all low-waisted and short, hitting the thighs and covering only the bikini line.

Shoppers criticized Free People’s latest short films and shared their jokes in the comments.

“I generally prefer my shorts and skirts to be longer than my tampon string,” said one commenter.

“With the model: are you okay? Kegel has asked for help twice. We’ll see for sure,” said another.

Some were concerned that people could get a fungal infection in the shorts.

“There’s not enough Monistat in the world for these shorts to exist,” said one viewer.

However, one woman was happy that she had finally found a pair of shorts that met a specific need.

“I’ve always wanted shorts that I could leave on even during the smear test,” she says.

“Everyone, please calm down with these rude, aggressive comments. I bought them for my hamster and she loves them!” said another.

Despite the controversy, many of the styles continue to sell out in size 24, much to one woman’s dismay.

“Ladies, we’re laughing, but the dark wax is sold out. Who’s buying this?!” she said.

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By Maria Chiorando for Mailonline

Published: 11:59 EST, March 7, 2024 | Updated: 12:00 EST, March 7, 2024

Shoppers are stunned by a £29.99 top from Zara in the new collection with an unusual feature: four armholes.

Spotted in a UK store, the Knotted Plush Sweatshirt features a sleeveless silhouette, with the addition of long sleeves at the hem.

Holl Jaya (@holljaya) shared a video of the garment on TikTok, which has racked up more than 3 million views and 42,000 likes in just three days.

The model, based in Manchester, filmed her boyfriend inspecting the gray cotton top in a 22-second clip on the video hosting service, captioned: ‘Zara what is it’.

In response, dozens of baffled viewers offered their suggestions as to what on earth could be the purpose of the extra armholes – and some even compared the top to a straitjacket.

One viewer suggested: ‘You fold it and put the longer arms through the short arms to make a long-sleeved crop top.’

Another viewer suggested: ‘It’s a cuddle sweater for couples.’

Meanwhile, someone else chimed in: “Nice coat from Wish!”

“It’s a leotard that you don’t have to take off in the toilet, the sleeves are for your feet,” someone wrote.

“I’m sure you have to fold it and put the arms through the holes,” another claimed.

“I thought you had to turn the sleeves inside out and turn the bottom in so it looked like a cropped two-layer sweater,” one person said.

According to Zara’s website, the Knotted Plush Sweatshirt is a “sleeveless crew neck sweatshirt with button effect hem and ribbed cuffs.”

The garment is available in sizes small, medium and large and is available in select Zara stores nationwide.

The sleeves are meant to be tied around the front of the body, creating the illusion of a sweater.

The light gray melange fabric contains RCS-certified recycled cotton and RCS-certified recycled polyester to limit the consumption of raw materials.

Zara styled the top with biker shorts and sneakers, creating a summery aesthetic.

Judging from the bewildered reactions on social media, it appears shoppers are unimpressed.

Zara is known for its bizarre campaigns and website layout, whether it’s confusing dimensions or jarring ad campaigns.

The fast fashion brand is also selling mid-rise ‘ripple effect’ jeans for £49.99, causing sticker shock for people on the internet.

The straight-cut denim has five pockets and is made from ‘crinkle effect’ fabric, for those who want wrinkled trousers that look like they’ve been in the dryer for days.

London-based fashion and beauty influencer Emma G. Mason shared a video of the denim and asked, “What is this?” and captioned the video, “trying to get us to wear wrinkled jeans.”

A viral sound asking ‘Ew, what is that?’ played in the background of the now-viral video, which amassed 18.7 million views and 1.9 million likes.

“An intern at Zara is trying to make it a trend so he never has to fold laundry again,” one commenter joked – and other reactions were decidedly mixed.

“I SAW SOMEONE SAY THIS ‘Run, don’t walk to Zara’ LIKE WHAAA,” one follower shouted, to which a commenter replied: “Don’t walk, run away from Zara.”

‘Run, don’t walk to Zara, no. Run, don’t walk to that IRON,” another joked.

Others compared the jeans to “that one receipt in my bag,” “that one piece of paper in my backpack” and “my clothes when I finally take them out of the dryer after being in them for a week.”

Another person joked: ‘Zara needs to do some ironing.’

This wasn’t Emma’s only introduction to Zara’s new aesthetic; the lifestyle content creator also shared a video from the men’s department, where a jacket was briefly wrinkled.

“Zara’s at it again with the wrinkled clothes,” Emma shouted.

By Tamara Prenn

Christian Horner may be breaching an obscure clause in Formula 1’s International Sporting Code after a series of inappropriate texts and photos appearing to be between the Red Bull team boss and a female employee were circulated anonymously on Thursday afternoon.

The FIA International Sporting Code contains a subsection of an article that refers to the moral responsibility that competitors have towards the organization, and explains that breaking their rules is ‘a punishable offence, whether (…) committed intentionally or negligently’.

Article 12.2.1f states that a competitor may be found in breach of the code for: ‘Any words, acts or writings which have caused moral damage or loss to the FIA, its bodies, its members or its executive officers, and more in the generally about the interests of motorsport and about the values ​​defended by the FIA’.

Should the FIA ​​want to launch its own investigation into the alleged texts and photos, the way Horner and Red Bull are leading the investigation, or the impact the media storm could have on the way the sport is viewed , whether the email brought F1 into disrepute could be investigated, with possible sanctions imposed.

Some of Horner’s colleagues were initially unhappy with the team’s parent company’s statement in clearing the team’s head on Wednesday, which insisted their KC-led investigation was “confidential.”

Neither the sport’s owners, Liberty Media, nor the FIA ​​have seen the 150-page report, and Mercedes’ team boss was among the first to call for more transparency about the investigation.

‘I believe that as we strive to be a global sport, on such crucial topics, there needs to be more transparency and I wonder what the position of the sport is?’ Wolff told reporters.

“We are competitors, we are a team and we can have our own personal opinions or not. But it’s more of a general reaction or action that we as a sport have to judge, what is right in that situation and what is wrong.

‘Are we talking with the right moral approach, with the values ​​based on the speculations that are out there?’

McLaren CEO Zak Brown reiterated his comments as he pleaded with the sport’s owners and organizers to “ensure that all racing teams and staff, drivers and everyone else involved in the sport operate in a way that we all live by.” ‘

In the wake of the circulating email, Horner insisted his “entire focus” was on the upcoming race weekend.

“I will not comment on anonymous speculation,” Horner said, “but I repeat: I have always denied the allegations.

“I respected the integrity of the independent investigation and cooperated fully with it every step of the way.

‘It was a thorough and fair investigation, carried out by an independent specialist lawyer, and it led to the dismissal of the complaint submitted.

‘I remain fully focused on the start of the season.’

A spokesperson for Red Bull GmbH called the development a “private matter” in a short statement.

“It is a private matter between Mr Horner and it would be inappropriate for Red Bull to comment on this,” their message read.

A woman's DNA test-inspired tattoo has received mixed reviews from critics.

Many thought the tattoo was “stupid” and even considered it worse than the infamous “no regerts” ink.

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An anonymous Redditor shared the tattoo they came across them on a forum.

“[SAD]get a tattoo of your Ancestry.com results,” they said.

One woman proudly showed off her heritage achievements, inked on her arm and bearing the Ancestry.com logo.

“42% Scandinavian, 26% Indian, 24% European, 8% Asian,” the tattoo read in large letters.

Critics shared their thoughts on the tattoos in the comments.

“That's it, we found it, the stupidest f**king tattoo ever,” said one commenter.

“Even worse than 'No Regerts', at least that's funny.”

“Honestly, this is it. This is Peak Stupid,” another agreed.

Some felt that there were many shortcomings in obtaining a heritage test tattoo, including vague and unclear results.

“What Asian? There are thousands of separate cultures here,” said one commenter.

Others felt that the woman was still missing a percentage in her tattoo.

“And 100% stupid,” one commenter joked.

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Southwest Airlines proudly unveiled its new cabin design, but was ridiculed for its “paper-thin” seats that were likened to “garden chairs” and “granite slates.”

The company announced the redesign of its new Boeing 737-800 and 737 MAX-8 aircraft last week, saying the updated interiors and customer experience improvements will debut in 2025.

Southwest worked with design firm Tangerine to create the sleek new cabins, which feature USB-A and USB-C charging stations, larger overhead bins and holders for personal electronic devices.

The interior also features sleek seats from RECARO, an airline and car seat brand based in Germany.

“The new RECARO seats feature a multi-adjustable headrest cushion for improved head and neck support, an intuitively designed seat for ultimate comfort while maximizing seat width and overall support,” said the press release.

Southwest noted that the redesign was “based on extensive research into customer and employee perceptions of color, comfort and their aspirations for the overall onboard experience.”

The airline shared a video of the cabin interior on TikTok, including close-ups of the seats and headrests with embossed Southwest hearts.

'New fitness check!' the company wrote in the caption.

'Introducing our updated cabin design and new seats! You can see this interior on new aircraft deliveries starting early next year. Not to mention our continued rollout of adding larger overhead bins and seat power outlets to our current aircraft!”

The 19-second clip has been viewed 8.9 million times and received more than 15,000 comments since it was posted on February 2.

However, the response appeared to be largely negative, with critics insisting that the new seats look 'uncomfortable' and 'narrower' than those in the current cabins.

“What I see are rock hard chairs,” someone responded.

'Love it. I've always wondered when airlines would start serving people like us who like to relax on granite slates,” someone else joked.

“So we get thinner, more uncomfortable chairs with a heart on them,” another added.

Others wanted to know what Southwest thought and said the revelation made them want to switch airlines.

“You just earned a Delta customer,” said one viewer.

“The best Delta ad I've seen,” someone else agreed.

'Didn't you do one focus group on this?!' asked another.

The backlash carried over to X, formerly Twitter, where people also outraged Southwest over the redesign.

“Southwest is introducing new wafer-thin seats, and Americans are just having to deal with it because the domestic airline has lobbied against high-speed rail so successfully that we're left with no other options,” wrote Hayden Clarkin, known as “The Transitman.”

“That Southwest upgrade reveal was so stupid. The seats are already rock hard and now they are thinner [and] look even less comfortable,” Toni Childs noted.

Someone else shared a photo of a lawn chair and said Southwest Airlines “revealed their new seats.”

This is what a spokesperson for Southwest said SFGate that the company conducted “multiple comfort tests with hundreds of participants” for the new seats before finalizing the design.

“We worked with RECARO to develop a more ergonomic custom pillow by using different foam technologies and densities and adding more padding to certain areas of the headrest, backrest and bottom cushion,” they said.

'The seat material selected for these new chairs not only feels softer, but makes the foam technology stand out better.'

The airline insisted that the new seats would have the same width, legroom and armrest size as the current seats on the Boeing 737-800 and 737 MAX-8 aircraft.

The spokesperson also dismissed concerns that the new interior design would include more rows, saying Southwest has “no plans” to add more seats in the cabin.

DailyMail.com has reached out to Southwest Airlines for comment.

Kanye West launched another tirade on social media on Thursday after his new sock shoes were made fun of.

The Yeezy Pod Socks, which have been widely mocked for looking like the wearer stepped out without shoes, have just been made available for pre-order for $200.

It marks Ye's first release independent of Adidas after the company cut ties with the rapper and fashion designer in 2022 over his anti-Semitic comments.

Hours after deleting all messages on his Instagram account, the 46-year-old rapper took to his Stories to share a screenshot of a DM he sent designer Brittany Pierone after he claimed she appeared to be mocking its new product.

Brittany, who previously worked for Nike and is the founder of design studio Proof Of Concept, had days earlier shared a photo of herself wearing the wrong size Yeezy Pod Socks, making them appear to be clownishly oversized in nature.

The photo quickly appeared on several Kanye fan pages, and despite Brittany revealing to a follower that there was no fit issue and that it was just “humor,” Kanye soon caught wind of the images.

Kanye quickly messaged the designer, sharing a photo of his message with the caption, “What the fuck is wrong with you. Don't play with me like that. What Adidas paid you to post that photo.

“I put so much work into every product and when I'm independent, this is what you want to post.”

Referring to a reporter who recently asked him if he was “checking out” his wife Bianca Censori, he added, “You're worse than the TMZ lady.”

Giving fit advice, he continued: “Take size one. Don't play with me like that. It's not funny. I worked on them for a year and released them myself.'

He then launched a series of unsubstantiated claims, adding: 'Jordan wanted to start his own brand and Nike threatened Footlocker to pull all his shoes from stores'

'Adidas copied all my stuff and treated me like shit. Adidas is suing me for 4 billion dollars and selling my shoes without paying me and they said I misused the marketing fund when I was the marketing

“That's why they sent me the money in the first place. You have no idea how much work. I have given everything we do.”

MailOnline has contacted Adidas for comment.

Bianca then responded to Kanye, explaining that her post had been reshared with a different caption, urging the rapper that she “liked” the product.

Pleased with her response, Kanye thanked her for her support, explaining, “I risked everything and we're building everything from scratch. Your support is greatly appreciated.”

In 2022, Adidas ended a major partnership with Kanye over his statements, discontinued the rapper's Yeezy shoe line and pushed back the CEO's planned departure.

In a statement at the time, the company said it “does not tolerate anti-Semitism or any other form of hate speech.”

It added that his “recent comments and actions have been unacceptable, hateful and dangerous, and are inconsistent with the company's values ​​of diversity and inclusion, mutual respect and fairness.”

Days after Adidas parted ways with the rapper, court documents revealed that Yeezy demanded the return of $75 million that was allegedly deposited into his accounts.

Yeezy refused and after a week of litigation, Adidas dropped a federal lawsuit aimed at freezing Yeezy's funds, announcing that they would pursue the money exclusively through private arbitration. Billboard reports.

Kanye's shoe collaboration with Adidas generated $1.7 billion in sales [£1.37 billion] in 2021 and was predicted to break the $2 billion mark [£1.61 billion] mark in 2022. This made it responsible for almost 10 percent of the company's total turnover.

Adidas has now said it plans to sell its remaining Yeezy shares for “at least” production value.

A fascinating TikTok takes viewers on a tour of a gated community in Florida modeled after Britain – sparking a firestorm of backlash from critics who mercilessly mocked the neighborhood for looking nothing like the real thing.

Social media star Tlowho is a self-confessed Anglophile – sharing his obsession with everything from Yorkshire puddings to cups of tea – ventured to International Village in Fort Lauderdale after hearing about the British connection.

According to the community website, it has a ‘European theme’, with the different districts including the English county of Yorkshire and the city of Nottingham.

While Tlo said the recreated Tudor buildings are ‘built a bit like a British building’, many viewers disagreed, with one writing: ‘As a person who lives in Yorkshire I can confidently say it looks doesn’t look like that at all.’

Another commenter said the buildings look more like a ‘Disneyfied’ version of England.

“They tried, but it didn’t quite work,” she added.

Another chimed in: ‘There’s nothing like Britain, my friend!’ as one added: ‘What’s going on in the non-UK countries?’

Meanwhile, one viewer said the only British part of Tlo’s video was the beginning, which showed him stuck in traffic.

After getting out of the traffic, he excitedly arrives at the gated village, with signs on red brick walls pointing to a ‘French Quarter’ and the ‘English Common’.

Tlo, who is originally from Chicago, then comes to a signpost with signs listing various places in both France and England.

He decided to visit ‘Yorkshire’, where he found a series of picturesque Tudor-style houses.

The content creator then reaches a pond where he spies a bird on the water.

He muses, “That is probably a British bird. They probably imported it from the London Canal or something.”

One viewer said this comment from Tlo made her laugh, while another viewer wrote: ‘I wonder if there are bikes, guns, knife, human body parts and shopping carts in the pond/lake? [That would be] typically English.’

Another said a more realistic depiction of England would be ‘a woman on a mobility scooter with her dressing gown on and hair scraped back on the way home’. [grocery store] Tesco.’

The camera then pans around to reveal a classic fountain with a water nymph on top.

Tlo says of the stone garden, “I don’t know what this is all about, but it’s cool.”

He then rushes on his video tour to avoid being caught by the residents.

“I’m trying to hurry up and get you some footage before they notice that I’m not really looking for an apartment here,” the vlogger explains.

While many viewers were unimpressed by International Village, Tlo seemed happy with the experience.

He said, ‘I’m not going to lie. I feel like I’ve been to Great Britain.

“I feel like I should move here.”

There are currently several homes in International Village for sale through Remaxwith prices ranging from $119,000 for a bed to $279,000 for a four-bedroom home.

Residents will also have access to several amenities, including tennis courts, an indoor golf course and an outdoor pool.