In the papers, Byrne claims that back in June 2015, after working with the model as her personal stylist for roughly nine months helping to dress her for various events, campaigns, and appearances, the two decided to work together on a contemporary sportswear line called RetroActive.
Byrne asserts that Heatherton paid her a discounted flat rate for her services, instead offering 40 percent equity in the company that would ultimately be formed to market and distribute their RetroActive line in lieu of compensation. As part of this agreement, the model also agreed that should nothing ever come of their sportswear collection and no company be formed, she would pay Byrne her full original rate and would also assume all costs for the project from inception to the prototype phase.
The stylist’s lawsuit claims that she then worked for 28 days on the line between June and September of 2015, designing and fabricating prototypes, developing an advertising and business strategy, and even coordinating with a factory in China to manufacture the pieces. However, it seems all of that effort was for naught, as in October of that year Heatherton abandoned the project completely “without warning or justification.”
This all happened after the model allegedly wore a few pieces from the RetroActive prototypes on September 18, 2015 to film a promotional video for Zoolander 2 and again on October 3, 2015 to throw out the first pitch at a New York Mets game, giving Byrne the impression that they were moving ahead as planned with their timeline to roll out the collection.
Since none of that came to fruition, however, the stylist is now seeking to be compensated for her full, un-discounted per diem rate, as well as her out-of-pocket expenses and what she believes her stake in the company would have been worth, all to the tune of $10 million. Heatherton has yet to make an official statement about the lawsuit.
This article originally appeared on PEOPLE
