KARLA CLUTE: GRAD GOWNS TO UPTOWN POUNDS

Carla Klute

The HAT’S MOST UNHINGED ENTREPRENEUR has potentially started a new company, but the only employee looks fake.

Let us pause, dear reader, to appreciate the sheer audacity of Karla Clute. Here is a woman who allegedly could not pay her staff, could not pay her designers, could not track a Calla Blanche order if you GPS tagged it, and could not respond to a refund email if her life depended on it. Her previous business, Magic Moments Bridal, left a trail of unpaid wages, empty dress racks, and furious parents whose daughters graduated in borrowed gowns. If they graduated in anything at all. Now? She is back. And she has rebranded. Meet Bourbon House Agency Inc. The newest "premium lifestyle brand" to slither onto Medicine Hat's business registry. According to city records, Clute's fresh corporation applied for an Escort Agency license under application number LCB202600434. Status: Active. Description: "ESCORT AGENCY/ONLINE SALES." From grad gowns to uptown pounds. That is the pivot.

Let us start with the face of this "luxury" empire because it tells you everything. The woman in red. The sultry gaze. The promise of "refined social experiences." She is the visual hook for Bourbon House. And she does not exist. The photo is a free stock image available on multiple websites. One particularly high end source, Depositphotos.com, has it listed under "Goergous woman in red dress lying on bed." That is not us being cute. That is the actual listing. So let us recap. Karla Clute, a woman who allegedly stole from grad students and underpaid her own staff, is now running an escort agency using a picture of a woman who is not real, like some of the grad dress deals.

For those just joining this slow motion train wreck, back in April 2025 Owl News broke the story of The Great Grad Gown Grift. Customers paid thousands for dresses that never arrived. Designer AMARRA publicly stated that Clute refused to pay them despite months of communication. Quote: "Each time, they promised payment for customer dresses, but it was never fulfilled." A former employee came forward with wage theft allegations, saying paychecks were late, incomplete, or missing entirely. Quote: "It wasn't just customers who got ripped off. Workers did too. Some of us quit because we couldn't afford to keep working for promises instead of paychecks." The liquidation auction came and went. And Karla? Karla went quiet. Until now.

Clute's social media game has been aggressive. Facebook, X, and Reddit all banned her promotional posts for violating community guidelines. On X. In 2026. You have to try very hard to get banned from the platform that once welcomed actual Nazis. But Kijiji said yes. Two weeks ago, Bourbon House posted a job for a "Private Client Associate." Flexible schedule. Premium one on one client experience. Engagements at restaurants, private residences, and hotels. The ad practically glowed with the subtle warmth of a massage parlor neon sign. Then came the pivot. A new ad appeared: "Brand Ambassador Opportunity." Now they are talking kiosks, golf tournaments, carwashes, and product demos. Competitive hourly pay. Fun environment. Bring a recent photo. Ask yourself: does a legitimate brand ambassador gig require a recent photo? Are they casting for the next Coors Light commercial or something else entirely? This is a bait and switch by a master baiter-switcher. You apply thinking you will be handing out energy drinks at a charity golf tournament. Next thing you know, you are on a casting couch getting Clutted. That is a verb we are coining for "getting screwed so bad your eyes go wide in disbelief of how "

Under Canada's Protection of Communities and Exploited Persons Act, selling sexual services is legal. But purchasing them, advertising them, or living off the avails of someone else's sex work is criminal. That means Clute's little agency could be skating on thin ice. Medicine Hat's own Escort Service Bylaw No. 3472 is even clearer. Section 9.25: no advertisements suggesting sexual favours or gratification. Section 9.26: same for business cards. Section 9.28: no operating an agency from a residence. Violations come with fines up to ten thousand dollars and, for the truly ambitious non payer, twelve days to one year in jail. Hotels. Private residences. "Premium one on one experience." If that is not code for something, then it's the most expensive way to find out someone's astrological sign.

Here is the real tragedy, and you knew it was coming. Women answering that ad for a fun carwash gig might walk into an interview expecting to talk about promotional calendars and leave being offered "private client" work. No judgment on sex work here. The issue is deception. And if anyone knows deception, it is Karla Clute. She has been deceiving customers, designers, and employees for over a year. So when she says "brand ambassador," some of us hear "bait." When she says "luxury companionship," some of us hear "the next batch of unpaid invoices." When she says "competitive hourly pay," well, we have seen her paperwork through the window, while police investigated them. Or rather, we have not. And now we learn her entire visual brand is built on a free stock photo of a woman who has never set foot in Medicine Hat. It is the perfect metaphor. A fake promise held up by a fake image sold by a woman whose only real talent is making things disappear.

Karla Clute has not responded to requests for comment. She has not responded to wage theft allegations, dress fraud complaints, or the mounting pile of small claims court filings. She is not going to respond to this. But here is what we know. She seems to be involved in the incorporation of the Hat’s only current escort agency. She is advertising for "private client associates" and "brand ambassadors" interchangeably. The face of her company is a free stock photo misspelled as "Goorgous woman in red dress lying on bed." She has already been banned from multiple platforms for violating their terms of service. And she is doing all of this while still allegedly owing money to designers, customers, and former employees. So if you see a Bourbon House booth at a golf tournament this summer, maybe ask them where your grad dress is. And if you are thinking of applying for that "fun, flexible" gig, just remember: the last people who trusted Karla Clute ended up empty handed, empty walleted, and emailing a Gmail address that never writes back. Also, maybe reverse image search the job posting before you send that recent photo. Clute on, Karla. Clute on.

Owl News will continue to monitor this story and the Medicine Hat Police Service's interest in it. Contact Constable Michelle Brunet at 403-529-8481 if you have been affected by any of Clute's ventures, past or present.