UPPER WEST SIDE — This thief should have worn driving gloves.
A quick-moving criminal stole a $4,000 Porsche Design jacket right off a mannequin during a Fashion Week event, police said.
The car company, better known for designing sexy sports cars, also creates high-end clothes, eyewear, luggage and accessories. The line includes $600 sneakers and a $3,300 titanium pen.
Sportswear from Porsche Design's 2012 collection was on display at the Empire Hotel across from Lincoln Center on Sept. 15 when a Porsche official noticed that one of the jackets had gone, according to a police report.
The jacket, a green leather men's size medium, was a "unique" and "exclusive" item that's part of a 40th anniversary collection, police said.
It was on display for three days in an exclusive, invitation-only lounge on the Empire Hotel's mezzanine level. The theft happened sometime between 9:45 a.m. and 8:50 p.m. on Sept. 15, according to police.
Empire Hotel security declined to comment. Porsche Design officials did not immediately return a call for comment.
Fashion blogger Karen Apablaza, who writes for Examiner.com, saw the jacket up close and said it was "beautiful."
"I thought the clothes were great," Apablaza told DNAinfo in an email. "Great fabrics, soft leather and suedes. Very well-fitted jackets."
Apablaza said she was puzzled by how the jacket could have been stolen from under the noses of event attendees, most of whom seemed to be Porsche Design executives, press and public relations people.
Attendees had to pass through a manned rope line to gain entry into the event, which was held in a "small space," Apablaza said. "How did someone run off with it like that?" Apablaza said. "I can't imagine who would steal the jacket."
