Australian label Camilla raided three times in a row

27th OF September 2012

Australian designer Camilla Franks has had a hard few weeks with continuous robbery attacks on her boutiques across Sydney.

Image: Camilla Franks backstage with models at her Mercedes Benz Fashion Week showing earlier this year, April 2012. Credit: Zimbio.com

With fans such as Lily Allen, Beyoncé and Oprah Winfrey, it’s clear the kaftan queen’s designs are highly sought after.

But the popularity of her exclusive brightly coloured and intricately patterned kaftans may now be the reason for three consecutive break-ins to her stores.

Police said officers were called to the Camilla boutique on Oxford Street, Paddington on Tuesday night after reports a dark car had reversed into the front window.

This was the third time one of Franks' Sydney boutiques had been robbed in as many weeks, with her Bondi flagship store raided by thieves last Monday morning as well as the week before.

Police said they were monitoring eBay sales for the garments stolen during the raids.

Franks's publicist, Sally Burleigh, said hundreds of garments from the latest collection, worth tens of thousands of dollars, have been stolen.

Burleigh said the brand had received a huge amount of publicity during Fashion Week, and the attacks seem to have been timed very strategically, just days after Franks’ launched her ‘Gypset’ collection in stores two weeks ago.

"It's a world-recognised, global brand. But we don't understand why Camilla is specifically being targeted at this time” Burleigh added.

Yet the publicist ensured Franks’ is now working closely with police to identify the offenders saying they will actively pursue the thieves and anyone who receives the stolen goods through the courts.