Bettina Liano is set to open her first American store this month - but not without controversy back on home soil.
ragtrader.com.au can reveal the designer's Little Collins Street store in Melbourne has been shut due to breaches of the lease.
A notice of re-entry and rescission by landlord Luksus Pty Ltd reveals the lease was terminated on two grounds.
These include a failure to fulfil rental obligations and a failure to fulfil outgoings payment obligations.
Speaking to ragtrader.com.au from New York, Liano said her two remaining stores in Chapel Street (Melbourne) and The Strand Arcade (Sydney) will continue to trade.
The designer said she planned to focus on the American market this year with a store set to debut there this month.
Liano said the site will be located at 246 Mott Street, Soho.
"It is over half of what I paid for that Little Collins Street store," she said. "What I was paying for the Little Collins Street store was exorbanent and even the slightest bit of trouble will get you in the mud. That was the landlord's reaction to the situation; she opted to terminate the lease."
Liano said a fashion film shot by renowned fashion photographer Robert Erdmann will debut in line with her American venture.
Administrators Ferrier Hodgson were appointed to Bettina Liano in 2011, owing millions to unsecured creditors.
The company was salvaged through an alliance with fashion heavyweight Apparel Group.
For more on Liano's plans for the American market and her thoughts on Australian retail, pick up a copy of Ragtrader's March 2013 edition.