The with the same name as ‘s new lifestyle brand, As Ever, has given a new interview following after the duchess’s announcement.
The Duchess of Sussex took to her to post a new video and announce that she has renamed her brand, first called American Riviera Orchard (ARO), to As Ever and added will handle it.
But her announcement was met with backlash from several people, who criticised her for yet another name change and the fact that her brand’s logo looks similar to a Spanish flag. They pointed out that there is already a small business called As Ever, based in New York and started in 2015.
The family business, run by couple Mark Kolski and Astrid Dahl, which specialises in “restructured vintage, small quantity pieces and unique one-of-a-kinds”, took to their social media last week to break their silence on the latest media storm but reassured their customers that they will carry on promoting the legacy of their brand.
Now Mr Kolski gave a new interview, giving more details about the brand’s moves forward.
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Meghan Markle’s new brand has the same name as another business (Image: Getty, asever.com)
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He told the New York Times that he had been reading up on trademark law and had consulted with a lawyer.
The owner also stated that since Meghan’s controversial announcement, his business’s following on social media has skyrocketed.
Mr Kolski said: “I started getting messages from friends and family and people that know my brand.
“And they were saying, ‘Have you seen this?’ There was just a lot of confusion, and I didn’t really know what to do.”
He added: “My brother’s an attorney, and so I called him. He’s not an intellectual property lawyer, but he did say, you know, you have some rights based on your established business.”
However, the co-founder of the vintage clothing brand said that he is not planning on taking any legal action against the duchess, for whom he harbours no resentment.
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He said: “I’m not trying to mount some legal offensive here.
“Right now, I’m just going back to work, and I’m trying to keep the awareness of my brand. If any conflict eventually arises that affects my business, I’ll evaluate that then.”
Regarding Meghan, he added: “What it feels like is out there people are making comments, and the media they want to create a rift between us, but there isn’t.
“I haven’t talked to them. They haven’t talked to me. There’s no battle going on.”
In her video announcing her brand, Meghan explained how she came up with the name As Ever, for her brand, saying: “As Ever essentially means as it’s always been, and if you’ve followed me since 2014 with The Tig, you know, I’ve always loved cooking and crafting and gardening.”
She added: “This is what I do, and I haven’t been able to share it with you in the same way for the past few years but now I can.”