From Net-a-Porter to the courtroom: When luxury turns into dirty laundry

I first encountered Natalie Massenet in the nascent days of Net-a-Porter. This was long before she was made a Dame, long before the merger with Yoox or the sale to Richemont, and well before the scandal that now has the fashion industry’s tongues wagging. Back then she hand-picked pieces herself: runway and campaign looks, labels like Missoni, Moncler, Alberta Ferretti, exacting taste, confidence.

Later I met Erik Torstensson and Jens Grede, of the Saturday Group, over coffees at Shoreditch House. My agents thought our collection might benefit from their branding and PR savvy. What struck me: Natalie was precise, forceful, warm; Jens inquisitive; Torstensson charismatic, with an edge.

What makes their current legal clash all the more dramatic is that they were once the high-flying couple of fashion. The pair met in 2009 when Torstensson reportedly pitched her the idea that became Mr Porter; by 2012 he co-founded Frame Denim. For years their lives, their homes, in London, New York, California, were photographed, their entertaining on display. In 2016, Architectural Digest featured Natalie Massenet’s 1880s mansion in South Kensington, remodelled by designer Michael S. Smith, showcasing art, library-spaces, interiors that bespoke refined, conspicuous taste.

They did not shy from the limelight. Invitations, events, parties: always with pizzazz. When Massenet turned 50, reports suggest the gathering was nothing if not lavish. It is clear they were among the few in luxury who made no effort to conceal their glamour. Unlike some heirs or executives of conglomerates such as LVMH, they appeared to court public visibility.

In August 2025, Natalie Massenet filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles accusing Torstensson of breach of contract, fraud, emotional distress, among other claims. She alleges that over their 14-year relationship she invested or expended 95 million dollars (approx. 71 million pounds) on a shared lifestyle, real estate, travel, and supporting his business ventures, all under promises of repayment and shared returns.

Torstensson responded earlier this month, filing a counter suit in New York that accuses Massenet of heavy drinking, drug use, and physical aggression, claims her side has dismissed as part of a smear campaign.

Surface & substance

Fashion, at its best, is about surface and substance, about the crafted projection of identity. In the world of luxury e-commerce, branding, celebrity, it is also about performance. Like a modern day "War of the Roses," the narrative that has formed around Massenet and Torstensson is no less than the unfolding of a bitter performance: passion, betrayal, power, money.

Whatever the court may decide, one must reflect that even if there is a legal winner, something deeper has been lost. The aura of glamour, the illusion of seamless success, trust, discretion, all have been torn. In luxury, when what is supposed to be aspirational becomes sordid, everyone loses more than money. When luxury becomes your dirty laundry, the stains linger far longer than any verdict.