In The Style founder wins court case after accusations of stealing idea

The founder of fast fashion retailer In The Style, Adam Frisby, has won a court case against Paul Clements, who claimed Frisby had stolen his idea to create the brand.

The complaint was heard at Manchester’s High Court, which had ruled in favour of Frisby after a five-day trial, stating that Clements narrative was a “false one”.

Judge Mark Cawson determined that Clements allegations “likely” stemmed from In The Style’s entry onto the stock-market in 2021.

In his claim, Clements had alleged that he had developed the idea for the company in 2013, after which Frisby had taken advantage of the start-up money he provided to set up the business.

Clements further claimed that he had invested 10,330 pounds into purchasing stock and creating the website, however he added that Frisby had “falsely” told him that “the business plan had no future”.

As part of the filing, Clements asked Frisby to account to him for what was realised upon the AIM floatation, putting the figure at 125 million pounds.

Frisby had defended himself, calling the claim “fraudulent” and stating that he had developed the brand “without any input or involvement from Clements”.

Commenting on the ruling, Julien Luke, partner at TLT, the law firm that represented Frisby, said: “I am delighted with the judgement and this victory for Adam. His is a real success story; having started the business of In The Style in his bedroom and then working tirelessly to develop and grow it such that the business floated in 2021.

“The judgement vindicates Adam and his stance that he would not be intimidated into making payment in the face of this false claim. I am proud to have led the TLT team in order to achieve this fantastic result for our client.”

Since its founding, In The Style has cemented its place in the industry through notable celebrity and influencer endorsements, driving it to become a 100 million pound business.