Italian influencer Ferragni's woes continue as eyewear maker Safilo pulls contract

ROME (Reuters) - Italian eyewear maker Safilo said on Thursday it was ending a licensing agreement with top fashion influencer Chiara Ferragni, who has come under fire for misleading advertising on charity initiatives.

The multi-year deal for the design, production, and distribution of Chiara Ferragni-branded glasses was interrupted "following the violation of contractual commitments undertaken by the brand owner," Safilo said in a statement.

Ferragni's press office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

A source close to the matter said Safilo's decision was linked to "good conduct" clauses invoked after last week's decision by Italy's antitrust agency AGCM to hit Ferragni with a fine of 1.075 million euros ($1.18 million).

The influencer was sanctioned as the regulator found that consumers had been duped into thinking that by buying a Ferragni-branded Christmas cake they were contributing to charity for a children's hospital.

AGCM said that Ferragni was paid 1 million euros for the branding initiative, but gave no money to the hospital, which received a fixed-sum donation of 50,000 euros from the cake-maker, not linked to sales.

Ferragni, one of the world's most famous fashion influencers with nearly 30 million followers on Instagram, has been pilloried over the affair, with criticism coming even from Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.

In response, the 36-year-old on Monday apologised and announced a 1 million-euro donation to the children's hospital that had been associated with the Christmas cake branding initiative.

($1 = 0.9101 euro)

(Reporting by Alvise Armellini and Elisa Anzolin; editing by Jonathan Oatis)