NYC clothing label 'As Ever' speaks out after Meghan Markle shares ...

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Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more

A clothing brand based in New York City has spoken out after Meghan Markle revealed she would be changing the name of her lifestyle brand from American Riviera Orchard to As Ever.

The company, also named As Ever, shared a post on its Instagram page on Tuesday thanking customers for continuing to support them while also clarifying that they are not associated with the Duchess of Sussex’s new lifestyle brand.

“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,” the company’s owner, Mark Kolski, wrote in the post’s caption. “In the last 36 hours there has been an outpouring of support and concern regarding recent events around our namesake brand. We are aware. We are not affiliated.”

Kolski went on to explain that his brand 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.

“It’s 2025. We are grateful to still be here making clothing in New York & New Jersey. We are grateful for all the customers coast to coast and worldwide that have supported our venture. We will continue As Ever.”

Kolski later revealed in an interview with The U.S. Sun that while he does not own the trademark to the name As Ever, he is still “exploring all possibilities” since he has sold clothing under that name since 2017.

“This new venture has the power and money of Netflix behind it,” he told the outlet. “Even if I wanted to do something I don’t think I have the behemoth of lawyers and money that are behind this.”

The Independent has reached out to representatives for Meghan for comment.

Meghan announced that she was changing the name of her brand in a video shared on Instagram on Tuesday after running into difficulties with trademarking.

She had previously tried to trademark the name American Riviera Orchard in the summer of 2024, which was rejected in August due to issues with how it was filed.

Meghan was told she could not have exclusive rights to the name ‘American Riviera’ because it’s a commonly used place name to describe where she and Harry live in Santa Barbara. The addition of the word ‘Orchard’ reportedly made little difference to this dispute.

The U.S. patent and trademark office also warned that the descriptions of the Duchess’s products fitted into multiple trademark categories, as “cocktail napkins” could be paper or textiles, and “cooking utensils” could be manual or electric.

Another Santa Barbara company was also using the term ‘American Riviera’ to sell candles.

Meghan was given three months to address errors and challenges to the application and in November she asked for a three-month extension. The Sussexes’ office said that these setbacks were “routine and expected” when filing for trademarks.