A fashion worker is suing Stella McCartney’s label after suffering an ankle-breaking fall at the company’s Milan showroom which she claims has left her unable to wear high heels.

Lawyers for Chloe Mickelborough, 31, told a London court that she was working on an advertising campaign for the English designer’s company when she fell through a “walkway” at the Italian showroom in 2018.

She is now seeking up to around $120,000 in compensation, alleging that the label failed to provide a safe workplace. Her lawyers said that as well as being unable to wear heels, Mickelborough is now “restricted to sedentary, office-based forms of employment” and has been forced to give up dancing, running, and certain gym classes.

McCartney’s label’s lawyer has denied the claim and said Mickelborough was the “sole author of her misfortune,” claiming that she climbed a railing to access an unauthorized and unsafe area of the showroom before the plunge.