The era of the popular style Instagram account Check the Tag could be coming to an end. As pointed out by Hollywood Reporter, its founder Kathleen Miozzo announced the shuttering of the account, which identified clothing worn by celebs on the red carpet.
On Monday, Miozzo used Instagram story to explain the reason behind the account’s close. "Getty contacted us and we're on the verge of being sued," she wrote. "We can't afford to buy the pictures, much less to be sued for them." She admitted in the story that she had been using Getty Images for her posts without paying for a subscription. "We apologize to all of the photographers we harmed in doing so, we also apologize to Getty Images for harming their business," the Rio, Brazil-based founder wrote.
Check the Tag may live on, that is if enough money can be raised to pay for the subscription. Miozzo launched a GoFundMe on Wednesday asking for $5,400 to cover the year-long subscription cost. "Getty offered us a chance: a low price subscription. We still can't afford it, but maybe if our followers can help us, even with $1 each, we could make it work," she wrote in a new Instagram story on Wednesday.
Miozzo broke the news on Check the Tag’s second Instagram account (@check_the_tag), since the original account (@checkthetag) was deleted earlier this year. The first account boasted of almost 85,000 followers, while her new one has reached nearly 6,000 followers. The first account had been shut down after the photo agency Backgrid reported it for using unauthorized photos, according to THR. For the new account, Miozzo began using the unauthorized screen shots of Getty images, which led to the threat of a lawsuit that may result in Check the Tag’s retirement.
"Stylists have been messaging us all day to say they're sad to see us go," Miozzo told THR. The founder, who works a full-time job in Brazil as a translator, said she heard from stylists like Karla Welch (who has styled Tracee Ellis Ross, Sarah Paulson, Elisabeth Moss, and Lorde) and Elizabeth Saltzman (who styles Saoirse Ronan). "They used [Check the Tag] as an archive," she said. "It was a tool for them to see whether or not other actresses had worn [looks] before."
Miozzo and her partner Thomas Monks both had no background in fashion when they launched the account, but their love of red carpet looks propelled them forward. "It's hard because we make zero money from this," said Miozzo."Thomas is the one who studies all of the collections and is like an encyclopedia, and I'm the fast typer."
