A woman has been charged with shoplifting after she posed as a security guard while removing bags of clothing from a warehouse sale of the popular Sydney kaftan label Camilla.
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The 43-year-old woman entered the sale at the Paddington Town Hall on Oxford Street shortly before 1pm on Friday, claiming to be a security guard.Police were told the woman, allegedly made herself known to staff at the sale, before she was noticed leaving and entering the premises repeatedly.
The woman was stopped by security staff shortly before 3pm, when she was seen placing clothing in plastic bags.
It is alleged 17 items of clothing worth thousands of dollars were located.
The woman, from McMasters Beach on the Central Coast, was arrested and later charged with shoplifting and carrying on security activity without a licence. She was granted bail to appear at the Downing Centre Local Court on March 23.
Mad fight going on at the Camilla warehouse sale aka a living nightmare. The apocalypse wears a rhinestone kaftan. pic.twitter.com/A4Y7tSfLZB— Una Butorac (@unabutorac) February 23, 2017
A Camilla spokeswoman said the brand could not comment on the police investigation, but said this was the first warehouse shoplifting incident Camilla had experienced.
"Like all popular brands we do have shoplifting incidents in our retail stores, but to my knowledge we haven't had an incident like this at a warehouse sale before.
She said the label had flown in extra shop assistants from around Australia to assist with the sale and the sheer number of shoppers.
"Yesterday brought out so many fans. The warehouse sale always does. And we will continue to assist police in their investigation and look forward to welcoming lots more honest Camilla fans over the weekend."
It was not the only dramatic scene to characterise the sale, where more than one thousand women queued from the early hours of Friday morning, seeking out a saving on the popular garments that usually retail for around $600.
Stars like Miranda Kerr, Beyonce and Oprah Winfrey have been known to don the colourful bejewelled flowing kaftans.
According to NewsCorp, the hotly-anticipated sale saw shoppers pushing and elbowing one another to grab samples and sale pieces, discounted by up to 70 per cent.
"Mad fight going on at the Camilla warehouse sale, aka a living nightmare," wrote Twitter user Una Butorac, with an accompanying video of security attempting to manage the crowds.
The sale will continue to run on Saturday and Sunday from 10am-7pm. It is understood dresses and kaftans were being sold for a reduced price of $200.
Huge queue down Oxford St to get into #Camilla warehouse sale. Looks like a casting call for Real Housewives of Hell— Naomi Toy (@NaomiToy) February 24, 2017
The label is no stranger to drama or robbery.
In 2012 the Camilla Bondi store was robbed three times in two weeks, with more than 700 garments stolen, totalling losses of $240,000.
Security at the flagship store was increased in October last year, after a "considerable amount" of the latest season's pieces were stolen in another robbery.
At the time, police said three men wearing dark clothing and masks smashed the shop's side door before stealing some of the expensive clothing, in the early hours of the morning.
In October, a Camilla spokeswoman told Fairfax Media that they did not know if the store robbery was pre-planned or a random attack.
On Saturday, the spokeswoman said investigations into the October robbery were still continuing, with police work on "some leads."
