It wasn’t just the economy that crashed Rock & Republic.
The defunct denim label, which in its heyday sold $200 jeans at upscale department stores, also fell victim to eccentric founder Michael Ball’s habit of collecting fancy cars — and handing the bill to the company.
That’s according to a bankruptcy trust administrator who last month filed court motions to seize a fleet of prize automobiles amassed by the free-spending fashion designer, including a vintage Mustang, a Bentley, an Aston Martin and a Mercedes Benz.
Now corporate liquidator Great American Group is preparing to sell several of the high-priced vehicles in a July 26 auction.
“We’ve had a lot of calls on the Mustang,” Roy Gamityan, senior vice president and auctioneer at Great American, told The Post.
Still, repo men haven’t had an easy time confiscating the cars from Ball since Rock & Republic filed for bankruptcy last year.
The cash-strapped California designer — who has been accused of everything from blackmail to sexual harassment to throwing a cocktail glass at a bar patron in a fit of rage — has moved relentlessly to block the seizure of assets.
“He was locking doors and locking gates on us,” Gamityan said, noting that Ball had been hoarding valuable goods at the company’s denim factory in Inglewood, Calif. “Some of the cars were stored in the factory behind all kinds of sewing machines and industrial equipment. He was messing with everybody.”
Ball likewise attempted to call the cops on the liquidators, according to court filings. Eventually workers moved more than 30 semi-trailer trucks full of raw denim, finished jeans, manufacturing equipment and autos to another facility out of Ball’s reach.
The recent struggle marks the final chapter for the company, whose trademarks were purchased last December for $57 million by VF Corp., the clothing conglomerate that owns Lee and Wrangler jeans as well as Seven For All Mankind.
“I buy a car about once a month, sometimes twice a month — I match my cars to my sneakers,” Ball boasted in a bizarre video available on YouTube yesterday, which appeared to be several years old.
In the video, apparently from an unidentified TV segment, Ball claimed to have spent $4 million on a collection of 20 cars that included a pair of Lamborghinis, for which he said he shelled out more than $1 million alone.
“Cars are a part of me, and I will spend millions and millions more,” Ball said.
Like Rock & Republic’s inventory and equipment, the pricey cars face some stiff markdowns at the coming auction. Ball claimed to have spent $480,000 on the Mustang GT350SR that will go up for auction at the end of the month. But liquidators expect it to fetch between $85,000 and $200,000, according to Gamityan.
Ball, who is said to be planning the launch of another fashion label, couldn’t be reached for comment yesterday. james.covert@nypost.com