Photo: Hayley Paige/Instagram
Fashion house JLM Couture is setting “the record straight” in response to bridal designerHayley Paige Gutman’sviral Instagramvideoannouncing her resignation from the brand.
In the 8 ½ minute video posted on her personal Instagram account,@allthatglittersonthegram, Gutman revealed she had stepped down as “head designer of my labels with JLM Couture.” She also tearfully said that she lost the rights to her own name and social media handles amid an ongoing legal battle with the company.
“JLM Couture has convinced a court to temporarily prevent me from even using my own name in public in any business context, possibly even including announcing what they have done to me. The Court also granted them control of the million-plus follower Instagram account that I started in early 2012, along with my TikTok and Pinterest accounts for their own purposes,” Gutman said in the now-viral clip.
“Second, Hayley claims she is barred from accessing the brand’s social media accounts. This is also incorrect. Hayley still has access to the accounts, and JLM Couture encourages and would welcome Hayley to work with us to publish on the brand’s Instagram and other social media platforms posts that are supportive of the Hayley Paige brands,” the spokesperson says. “The brands are what everyone, including Hayley, JLM and our retail partners, has worked so hard to build.”
“Although a very important player in the bridal market, JLM Couture is a small business. [Founder and CEO] Joe [Murphy] personally started the company in the late ’80s and today roughly three out of four employees are women. All upper management, aside from Joe, are women — many of whom have worked here for a decade or more. JLM supports women and pledges to continue to do so,” the JLM spokesperson continues.
The brand says they were “disappointed and surprised Hayley resigned from the company during active contract negotiations” after their “decade-long record of success” which grew the Hayley Paige brands into “one of the most successful and recognizable wedding gown brands in the world.”
allthatglittersonthegram/ instagram
“We have worked collaboratively with Hayley and the dedicated team of designers and assistants to fund and build the brand into the success it is today. We continue to hold Hayley in the highest regard and hope to resolve any differences,” the JLM Couture spokesperson says.
In response to JLM’s Couture’s latest statement, Gutman shared the following with PEOPLE:
However, JLM Couture claimed problems arose when Gutman created a TikTok account with the username @misshayleypaige in Nov. 2019 with videos that “did not properly represent the HP Brands.” Then in late 2019, Gutman changed the bio section of the @misshayleypaige Instagram to read “personal & creative account,” which JLM Couture said was a breach of their agreement.
TLC
Gutman shared the following exclusive statement with PEOPLE: “The way JLM Couture has behaved is exactly why I don’t wish to be associated with them any longer. JLM made a lot of claims in their lawsuit, and we will have a lot to say about them, in court. We are confident that justice will be done.”
source: people.com
