FASHIONABLE GRAFFITI BUST

By ALEX GINSBERG
March 7, 2007 -- A graffiti "artist" and consultant to hip-hop fashion designer Mark Ecko was tagged with felony charges yesterday for allegedly spray-painting subway cars in Brooklyn.

Alain Mariduena, 36, was hauled into Brooklyn Supreme Court in cuffs and an Ecko jacket.

"The defendant . . . has a long history as a graffiti artist going back 25 years," said Assistant DA John O'Mara.

Lawyer Daniel Perez, who represented Ecko Unlimited last year when the company battled the city for a permit to stage a publicity event featuring graffiti art, said Mariduena is "an artist. He's hired by corporations to paint for them."

An Ecko spokesman did not return a call.