Hailey Bieber is facing legal issues surrounding her new skincare line, Rhode. The model has been hit with a lawsuit over trademark infringement by a popular clothing brand of the same name.
In court documents obtained by Us Weekly on Tuesday, June 21, Purna Khatau and Phoebe Vickers, founders of Rhode NYC, a women’s apparel label worn by Beyoncé, Tracee Ellis Ross and more, claim Bieber’s beauty brand will limit their success.
“Bieber’s ‘Rhode’-branded products will first saturate the beauty market that overlaps with the women’s clothing and lifestyle market in which Rode operates,” the complaint states. The women also claim Bieber, 25, has plans to expand her brand under the moniker, which is taken from the Drop the Mic host’s middle name.
The entrepreneurs also allege that Bieber has caused confusion among shoppers by using promotional phrases “shop Rhode” and “on the Rhode,” which the women say their brand “has been using for years.” The lawsuit continues: “The magnitude of Bieber’s following and the vitality of her marketing will cause immediate, ongoing and irreparable harm to Rhode’s brand.”
In a statement to Us, Khatau and Vickers praised Bieber’s success, but shared that they are hoping she changes her company’s name to avoid further harm to their brand. “We admire Hailey. She has worked hard and earned the ability to create her own skincare line,” they said. “We don’t want to sue Hailey; we want to celebrate her. As fellow women entrepreneurs, we wish her every success … but the brand Rhode is everything we have worked hard to achieve, and her using our name is hurting our company, our employees, our customers and our partners.”
Additionally, the businesswomen claim Bieber attempted to buy “the rights to our brand” four years ago, but they declined. Khatau and Vickers launched Rhode in 2014 and offer a vibrant selection of dresses, jumpsuits and accessories. The label is also sold at major retailers including Revolve and Net-A-Porter.
Bieber launched her beauty brand on June 15, offering a selection of vegan, cruelty-free products wrapped in minimalist packaging.
“We spent years working on our formulas with our skin board of dermatologists and chemists to make sure that every rhode product restores, protects and nurtures your skin. Our formulas only use high-performance ingredients at efficacious levels. Each one is purposeful, non-sensitizing, and chosen for its efficacy because a happy skin barrier is a glowy skin barrier,” Bieber announced via Rhode’s official Instagram account at the time.
Us has reached out to Bieber for comment.
