Meghan Markle‘s in hot water again over her new company rebrand!
On Monday, Meghan announced that she was changing her lifestyle brand name from American Riviera Orchard to As Ever, a name she claims she secured back in 2022. She was quickly called out for seemingly copying her logo from the Coat of Arms of a small Spanish town that is considering legal action. And now the name is getting called into question!
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One day after her news, it was revealed that there’s a small, family-owned clothing company based out of New York City with the SAME name! Owner Mark Kolski spoke out on the royal controversy on Instagram on Tuesday, sharing:
“Wow and Hello, I want to say thank you to all the old friends who know and love our small family brand As Ever, and also say hi to all those that have just become aware we exist.”
He thanked fans for the outpouring of “support and concern” he had received “regarding recent events around our namesake brand.” Then he made it very clear:
“We are aware. We are not affiliated.”
He also noted that he started the company well before the Duchess of Sussex ever imagined creating her new brand, he explained:
“This venture started back in 2015 when I reworked vintage military to make our signature tanker pant for my wife, Astrid Dahl as a side hobby. It was followed by a pink jumpsuit that quickly became a cult classic.”
His company became official in 2017 and he’s “grateful” to still be making clothes in New York and New Jersey today. He concluded the post:
“We are grateful for all the customers coast to coast and world wide that have supported our venture. We will continue As Ever.”
Unfortunately, he may not be able to do anything to fight Meg’s competing brand name. He told The US Sun that he does not own the trademark to “As Ever” — but he will not be changing his name and is “exploring all possibilities.” He believes he has common law rights to continue selling his clothes because he has been doing so for so long. He explained:
“I’m a very small business, it’s a family-run operation. I’m essentially a one-man band.”
That said, he knows the odds are stacked against him:
“This new venture has the power and money of Netflix behind it. Even if I wanted to do something I don’t think I have the behemoth of lawyers and money that are behind this.”
Oof. It certainly doesn’t seem like he’s backing down, but there may only be so much he can do legally.
Hopefully Meghan doesn’t come for this fashion designer, though! If she tries to get him to change his name that could really cause some backlash! As of now, she seems to be focused on the home goods space, so fingers crossed for him.
You’d think Meghan’s team would do a little digging to make sure she was coming up with an original brand — especially after she’s faced so many of these kinds of issues in the past! Sigh.
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