Hayley Paige of 'Say Yes to the Dress' says she lost rights to use her name
"Say Yes to the Dress" star Hayley Paige Gutman is resigning from JLM Couture after nine years.
The bridal designer announced on Instagram that she would be leaving the company after facing a year-and-a-half long legal battle with the clothing label.
"It is with a heavy heart that I have resigned from my role as head designer of my labels with JLM Couture," Gutman captioned the video. "Going forward, I will no longer be associated with any of their products, including the designs and dresses which bear my name."
She later alleged in the video that she has also lost the rights to her own name and social media handles amid an ongoing legal battle with the company.
Posted from an account @allthatglittersonthegram, Gutman claims that JLM Couture has sued her and convinced a court to grant them temporary control and access over her Instagram account as well as her TikTok and Pinterest accounts. "At present, I am not even allowed to remove my personal photos or thoughts from these accounts," she alleged.
Gutman continued, "I am shocked and disappointed that JLM Couture and CEO Joseph Murphy could or would do this to me, and I wanted to be the first to personally tell you that I am no longer personally running the accounts associated with @miss(followed by my name), at least until this matter is resolved in court."
Instagram accounts that include her name include misshayleypaige, blushbyhayleypaige, hayleypaigeoccasions and lapetitehayleypaige.
On Wednesday, JLM Couture responded to Gutman's video to address the situation in a statement : "Like many things that glitter and shine, the issues between JLM Couture and Hayley Paige Gutman are multifaceted. The CEO (Joe) and employees at JLM all love Hayley and hold her in the highest regard."
The statement went on to allege that it is documented that Hayley had a lawyer help her review employment contracts prior to signing them and that there were multiple rounds of negotiations between Hayley and JLM until both parties settled on an agreement that each felt was fair and mutually beneficial.
The clothing brand also claimed that Hayley does have access to the social media accounts and JLM Couture would welcome Hayley to continue contributing content that is supportive of Hayley Paige brands.
JLM Couture concluded its statement by saying, "We are welcoming comments and questions here, but we do ask that you remember we are not a faceless corporation. We are a small but dedicated team of people who are all trying to handle this together, with Hayley, and now with you all as well. Our designers have always respected and supported each other, so we hope you understand that bullying them isn't the answer either."
Gutman has not yet publicly responded to JLM Couture's statement.
"The interesting thing about social media is so much of what makes an account grow is the personality behind it and personality and brand are really becoming one thing," Insider senior lifestyle editor Rachel Hosie told "GMA." "So, yes, it may be a clothing line, but it's also the person and the brand is her name, which is why it's such an interesting case."
Other household names such as Donna Karan and Kate Spade have also been designers that have tied their names to a brand and had to eventually relinquish those names after selling their respective companies. However, social media didn't exist during these times which adds a new layer to self-named brands.
