Alexander Berardi, an openly gay fashion designer and the youngest person to show at New York Fashion Week, usually keeps two cute-as-a-button bunnies, named Ms. Cooper (far right) and Jack (left), in a front display panel at his eponymous store at 174 Prince Street.
But Ms. Cooper was cruelly snatched from her pen yesterday around 8:30pm last night and carried out of the store.
Perpetrating a bunny-napping mere weeks before Easter? These fools are going to get served, hardcore.
“I’m sad,” Berardi, 25, told Queerty. “A lot of people in the neighborhood come visit the rabbits. The kids come by after school.”
The two Holland Lops were even favorites of celebrity moms in the neighborhood, including former supermodel Christy Turlington, reality star Bethenny Frankel, and 30 Rock star Jane Krakowski.
Berardi was not at the store when the rabbit was wrested, but he says his business partner and brand co-founder Chris Kulukundis, 25, was. “As soon as Chris turned away, she was gone,” he lamented, saying that they suspect a bunch of shady so-called artists committed the deed.
The suspects had come into the store before and asked Kulukundis, “probing questions about the bunnies,” Berardi says. “Like, ‘What kind of rabbits are they? What do you do with them at night?'” When he asked the visitors who they were, they described themselves as “artists.”
As for what Berardi and Kulukundis do with the bunnies at night—they take them home, like responsible pet owners.
“They were probably planning this for a while,” continued Berardi. “They were dressed as cowboys when they came into the store last night. I don’t know if it’s a publicity stunt, [but] I just want my rabbit back. She has a very specific diet.”
Berardi sees a light at the end of the tunnel, especially after Queerty mentioned a recent story in which a puppy with a very special diet was snatched and returned a few weeks later by an anonymous caller. “We’re hoping exactly that happens. Then we’ll have a wine party at the store!”
If you have any information on the cowboy artists who committed this ill deed, contact Queerty.
Photos via Alexander Berardi
Click through for more photos of the bunnies and the store!
How about we take this to the next level?
Our newsletter is like a refreshing cocktail (or mocktail) of LGBTQ+ entertainment and pop culture, served up with a side of eye-candy.
Ted B. (Charging Rhino)
In the Old West, stealing livestock was a hanging offense.
DenverBarbie
I hope he gets his rabbit back! I’m a pretty zen person, but I’d slaughter if anyone tried to harm or steal my kitty (named Bunny- funny enough).