Bridal designer Hayley Paige is making her comeback. Here are 5 lessons she learned after her yearslong legal battle with JLM Couture.

Hayley Paige was giddy when we spoke in August.

Just over a week earlier, she had released Twice Upon A Time, a collection of 30 wedding dresses — her first since a yearslong legal battle with her former parent company, JLM Couture, during which she could not design gowns or use her name professionally.

“There was definitely a moment where I was just like, ‘I need to move on. I need to work for a living and find some other way to utilize my craft,'” Paige told Business Insider.

Paige got the rights to her name and the Hayley Paige brand as part of JLM’s bankruptcy settlement in May 2024. Twice Upon A Time marks the first collection she’s released in five years, and she’s celebrating with a trunk show at Kleinfeld Bridal the final two weekends of August.

Ahead of the show, Paige shared some of the lessons she learned about business while she was away from the bridal industry.

Social media savvy

Social media played a significant role in Paige’s legal issues with JLM, as she and the company disagreed about who owned the @misshayleypaige accounts. Paige got ownership over the accounts as part of the settlement, and she said her experience has led her to be more cautious about what she posts.

“You don’t want to be trading your integrity for exposure, which I think a lot of times happens inadvertently on social,” she said. “Everybody wants to participate, and I think that’s a beautiful thing, but you also want to be really careful of protecting your peace and setting some boundaries.”

Paige said she feels most comfortable sharing content about her wedding dress designs or interactions with brides rather than leaning into trendy skits or dances or sharing anything too personal.

In addition, Paige doesn’t think it serves her business-wise to chase virality.

“It’s always great when you go viral, but it’s more important for you to become a vintage than it is to go viral,” she said. “That longevity and that intuitiveness that goes into branding is so much more important than the reactivity and just being timely with stuff.”

Have no fear

Twice Upon A Time has all the hallmarks of Hayley Paige designs that brides have come to love, like voluminous skirts and intricate lace, but Paige has also innovated, adding bold pops of color and new silhouettes.

Paige told Business Insider she has felt less fearful of taking risks with her work since she stepped back into bridal.

“I feel more defiant, and I’m not as afraid of people misunderstanding me or not liking what I do,” she said. “As you go through challenges and adversities, you really do build a muscle for it.”

“I think as a designer, accepting that you’re not going to be for everyone is OK,” Paige added.

At the same time, Paige said it’s important to keep customers in mind every step of the way for people who work in industries like bridal, where the products are custom-made.

“I want to have a very clear vision, but I also want it to feel like the bride is part of this too,” she said, adding that she thinks of the bride as her “muse.”

Your talent as currency

Paige has always been passionate about designing wedding dresses, but she now has a better appreciation for what her talent means from a business perspective.

“It’s always important to treat your talent like intellectual property because it actually is,” she said. “When protected, it behaves like interest on intellectual capital. Basically, creativity compounds.”

For Paige, maintaining creative control has become paramount, as has implicit trust in everyone she works with. Paige has had the same business partner for 12 years, who is now the brand manager for Hayley Paige.

“Knowing somebody for so long is a real value add, because you’ve been through all those ups and downs and you’ve seen every part of that person,” she said.

Paige also hired the same tech designer she worked with when she was still with JLM. She’s working with boutiques like Kleinfeld, with which she has long-standing relationships.

“Kleinfeld is so sentimental and special to me,” she said. “Kleinfeld trunk shows were always the most exciting because of ‘Say Yes to the Dress‘ and all these magical moments made there in that space. To be rebranding and coming out with our very first trunk show there, it’s super poetic, and it feels like a homecoming in a way.”

Prepare for the worst-case scenario

Although she’s in the midst of an exciting new collection, Paige said she now approaches her business endeavors “assuming it could go wrong,” a marked shift from how she used to work.

“I think before, I was a bit more reckless and like, ‘We’ll cross that bridge when we get there,’ kind of thing, whereas now I’m like, ‘No, let’s get in front of this, and let’s think of how we can set ourselves up for success,'” she said.

Paige said she feels more aware that people might not always be on her side, and it’s on her to set up protections for herself and think through what could go wrong. She feels like a more prepared businesswoman because of the mindset shift.

“I learned the hard way that mindset doesn’t make me negative. I can still be very positive and hopeful and joyful in my craft, but there’s a dark side to business,” Paige told Business Insider.

By not assuming the best of situations from the jump, Paige feels more prepared to take on curveballs when they hit her business.

Protect yourself

Paige also thinks having a strong legal team behind you is imperative if you’re in business.

“It’s not glamorous, but hire a lawyer,” she said. “Even with how amazing ChatGPT is and other resources that you can get online, nothing truly beats having a good legal team or a lawyer.”

Paige said leaning on those people when you’re early in your career is particularly important, as it can help prevent you from making mistakes or releasing subpar products.

“I know we’re like, ‘It’s always good to have progress over perfection,’ and yeah, I agree with that, but you don’t want to be forcing yourself to get out there and be quick and miss some pivotal points in setting yourself up for success,” Paige said.

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