It was a very public bust-up that was labelled ‘Bra Wars’ by newspapers and resulted in huge publicity for Michelle Mone’s lingerie brand.
Now, some 20 years later, Penny Lancaster has ripped into her former boss at Ultimo, describing the end to their relationship as ‘cynical and ugly’.
Ms Lancaster famously modelled for the brand in 2002 before being dropped two years later and replaced by her husband Sir Rod Stewart’s ex-partner Rachel Hunter.
While Sir Rod made his feelings clear at the time, branding Baroness Mone a ‘nasty piece of work’ and ‘a manipulative cow’, Ms Lancaster has been more coy.
But now in her new book Someone Like Me, the former model gives a scathing assessment of Baroness Mone, 53, stating her actions were motivated by ‘greed’ and ‘spite’.
Ms Lancaster, 54, who married Rod Stewart in 2007, said the offer of working with Ultimo came through her agent in 2002 and, despite not knowing the brand, something about it appealed to her. She met with Baroness Mone and her then-husband Michael in London to discuss working together and says Ultimo was ‘on the brink of bankruptcy’ at the time – a claim that is disputed.
Ms Lancaster insisted the firm could not offer her the going rate for someone with her profile but claims Baroness Mone ‘implied’ they might discuss a business partnership ‘down the line’. She also rubbished reports at the time she was paid £200,000, saying her first year’s contract was ‘substantially below that’.
She even claims the businesswoman, who took the title of Baroness Mone when she became a peer in 2015, had told her she and her husband had had to remortgage their house to sign her.
Ms Lancaster said the publicity Ultimo enjoyed helped to turn its fortunes around. But despite stating she felt a ‘sisterhood’ and ‘bond’ with Baroness Mone, things took a sour turn.
She said her agent started ‘loose negotiations’ to renew her contract with Ultimo in July 2003 but she learned from the press Ultimo had taken on Ms Hunter as its model – and she was out. Ms Lancaster wrote: ‘I found it nasty and a window into the heart of the person Mone truly is.
‘The answer was simple: headlines, of course. Pitting Rod Stewart’s ex-wife against Rod Stewart’s current girlfriend generated more headlines than any publicity campaign ever could. In my view, it was cynical and ugly.’
A BBC One documentary, The Rise and Fall of Michelle Mone, earlier this year looked at how the baroness and her husband Doug Barrowman’s firm PPE Medpro was awarded lucrative contracts to provide personal protective equipment during the pandemic. The firm is being sued by the Department of Health with the government saying the gowns could not be used because they were not sterile. Baroness Mone and Mr Barrowman deny wrongdoing.
Referring to the documentary, during an episode of ITV’s Loose Women in May, Ms Lancaster said: ‘It didn’t surprise me because karma gets you, I guess’.
A spokesman for Baroness Mone said Ms Lancaster’s contract ‘came to a natural end’ and added: ‘We do not recall there being a ‘scare of bankruptcy’ at Ultimo. Like many growing businesses, there were challenges but Michelle successfully built the company into a major international brand. When major department stores made it clear they required a change in marketing, Michelle had little choice.
‘Rachel Hunter was keen to step in and that’s how the modelling and celebrity industry works.’
The spokesman also said Ultimo had worked with numerous supermodels, actresses, and celebrities, insisting: ‘There were never any hard feelings. Michelle has always respected Penny as a talented woman and wishes her the very best with the launch of her new book.’
