Just a week after launch, Hailey Bieber’s new skin care brand, Rhode, has come under controversy.
The model’s brand was sued on Tuesday by Purna Khatau and Phoebe Vickers, the founders behind Rhode, a fashion label based in Los Angeles. Through their legal counsel, Lisa Simpson, the founders are suing Bieber’s brand for trademark infringement — alleging that as both brands share the same name, that will lead to brand confusion by customers.
As the legal proceedings have just begun, WWD breaks down everything you need to know about the Rhode fashion brand. Read on for more.
When was the Rhode fashion brand founded?
The Rhode fashion brand was founded in 2014 in New York. The brand is now based in Los Angeles.
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Who are the Rhode fashion brand founders?
Khatau and Vickers are the founders behind the Rhode fashion brand. The two women met as college freshmen roommates at Hamilton College where they discovered their shared love of design and saw they had the same taste in decor when shopping for their dorm room.
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Post college, Khatau gained experience in the fashion world working as a buyer at Harvey Nichols in London, while Vickers pursued a career in advertising. They reconnected and decided to launch Rhode as a way to create daywear fashion pieces that bridged the gap between business attire and streetwear.
According to the founders, they named the brand after a sea nymph in Greek mythology.
What does the Rhode fashion brand offer?
The fashion brand offers colorful and printed dresses, tops, bottoms and lifestyle accessories. On Tuesday, Rhode is releasing its new home decor collection that includes plates, napkins, placemats, tablecloths, aprons and more.
Last summer, the brand teamed with Shopbop Active to debut its first activewear collection. The collection came after Rhode previously teamed with Shopbop on a resortwear collection in 2019.
Where can I buy Rhode apparel at?
Rhode’s offerings are available through its own e-commerce site, as well as Net-a-porter, Saks Fifth Avenue, Nordstrom, Shopbop and small boutiques across the country.
What celebrities have worn Rhode?
Over the last eight years, many major celebrities have been spotted wearing Rhode’s designs. The list includes Beyoncé, Rihanna, Tracee Ellis Ross, Khloé Kardashian, Busy Philipps, Jamie Chung, Whitney Port, Zoey Deutch and many others.
Why are they suing Hailey Bieber’s Rhode beauty brand?
Khatau and Vickers are suing Bieber’s Rhode beauty brand for trademark infringement. The founders released a statement on Tuesday giving insight into why they filed the lawsuit.
“Today, we were forced to file a lawsuit against Hailey Bieber and her skin care line that launched last week and that is using the brand name ‘Rhode,’” the statement reads. “We didn’t want to file this lawsuit, but we had to in order to protect our business. While a global brand, we are still a young and growing company, and we cannot overcome a celebrity with Hailey’s following using our company’s name to sell related products.”
The founders went on to state that even though their brand offers fashion products and Bieber’s is a beauty brand, they are expecting brand confusion from customers.
“Unfortunately, that Hailey is currently focusing on skin care while we focus on fashion has not been preventing brand confusion, and it won’t in the future,” the statement reads. “We’re both part of a larger beauty market in which fashion and cosmetics closely overlap and often collaborate. Hailey has stated that she wants to pursue a clothing line, and she even applied for ‘Rhode’ as a trademark for clothing. We welcome competition — we just don’t want competitors using our name.”
Has Hailey Bieber responded to the lawsuit?
Bieber’s Rhode beauty brand did not respond to a request to comment.
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