Shark Tank Gayla Bentley Fashion Update 2026

Gayla Bentley recognized a significant gap in the fashion industry: the lack of stylish, high-quality clothing options for women who wear sizes 12 and up. Inspired by this problem, she channeled her creative genius into designing a line that caters to all sizes, offering inclusive fashion that meets the needs of this underserved market. Will this be a business the sharks would love to invest in? Find out in our Gayla Bentley Fashion update and pitch recap.

If you’re short on time, here’s a quick overview of what happened to Gayla Bentley Fashion after Shark Tank.

Gayla appeared on Shark Tank Season 1 to pitch her fashion business, seeking $250,000 for 20% equity. After her pitch, she secured a deal with Barbara Corcoran and Daymond John for $250,000 for 50% equity.

In terms of a Gayla Bentley Fashion update, the company secured a place in a major luxury store brand but quickly ran into challenges due to Gayla’s inexperience. As of today, Gayla Bentley Fashion appears to be out of business.

Shark	Result
Barbara Corcoran and Daymond John	Accepted offer of $250,000 for 50% equity
Kevin O’Leary	No offer
Kevin Harrington	No offer
Robert Herjavec	No offer

Shark Tank Gayla Bentley Fashion Pitch

Entrepreneur: Gayla Bentley
Business: Plus size women’s fashion
Ask: $250,000 for 20% equity
Result: $250,000 for 50% equity
Shark: Barbara Corcoran and Daymond John

Gayla entered Shark Tank, seeking a $250,000 investment in exchange for a 20% stake in her luxury plus-size fashion brand, Gayla Bentley Fashion.

She intends to use the funds to open a brick-and-mortar store in Houston, catering specifically to women who wear sizes 12 and up—a market she knew was underserved.

In the United States, over 60% of women wear sizes above 12, yet most stores focus on smaller sizes, leaving limited options for plus-sized women.

Gayla Bentley Fashion addresses this gap by offering stylish and high-quality clothing in sizes 12 to 28.

The brand offers a range of items, such as dresses, jackets, and tops.

Its mission is to provide fashionable and comfortable clothing for a demographic often overlooked by the fashion industry.

During her pitch, Gayla spoke passionately about the luxurious materials she used and her strategy for entering the retail market.

She had to educate some of the sharks on the challenges plus-size lines face in the fashion industry.

At the time, her fashion line was only available online, generating around $500,000 in annual sales.

She was seeking a pioneer investor to help take her brand to the next level.

Daymond John supported Gayla, especially when Kevin O’Leary and Robert Herjavec expressed doubts about the profitability of plus-size fashion.

Despite Barbara Corcoran’s efforts to persuade him to make an offer, Kevin O’Leary exited the negotiations.

Kevin Harrington followed because he didn’t see a clear return on investment.

Robert Herjavec also dropped out of the deal, citing his lack of expertise in the fashion industry.

Barbara continued to advocate for the investment, while Gayla appealed directly to Daymond.

In response, he decided to make her an offer of $250,000 for 50% equity, contingent on securing a deal with a major retailer.

Daymond also asked Barbara to join the deal, valuing her insight into what women want in fashion, and she obliged.

Gayla, wanting to retain creative control, countered with 45% equity.

Daymond reassured her that their partnership would be collaborative, which was why he hadn’t asked for a majority stake.

Ultimately, Gayla accepted the offer of $250,000 for 50% equity and left with a deal.

Curious to know if the company thrived afterwards? Keep reading our Gayla Bentley Fashion update to find out what happened next.

Shark Tank Gayla Bentley Fashion Update

Our research on the Gayla Bentley Fashion update revealed that shortly after its episode aired, the company secured a placement in the Neiman Marcus luxury department store, positioning it for initial success.

However, Gayla’s inexperience in scaling the business led to difficulties, and by 2016, her online presence had become inconsistent.

Despite experiencing a brief resurgence with her line being sold in boutiques across 23 U.S., Canada, and the UK, her operations suffered a major setback when Hurricane Harvey flooded her facilities in Houston in August 2017.

Our Gayla Bentley Fashion update found that the damage was severe, and Gayla was unable to recover from the financial and logistical challenges.

As a result, Gayla Bentley Fashion went out of business in 2018.

At the time of this writing, Gayla has shifted her focus to consulting. She uses her expertise in fashion to advise Fortune 500 companies on personal and professional styles.

This will be our final Gayla Bentley Fashion update.

Would you like to learn about the other companies featured in Season 1, Episode 9? Follow the links below for our other company updates from the episode.

Before you go, check out our Shark Tank Season 1 page for more updates.

Andrew Smith

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Andrew is a lifelong fan of Shark Tank and an entrepreneur at heart. He started Shark Tank Recap because he wanted a single place to track what happens to the companies, founders, and deals after they air on TV. With a sharp eye for business insights and a passion for all things Shark Tank, Andrew makes sure every recap is accurate, engaging, and fun.