Ruben Studdard (right) is said to have worn the clothes for cash

The firm made the claim after Studdard launched a lawsuit against the company, accusing them of wrongly profiting from his image.

Studdard triumphed in the second series of talent show American Idol after 24 million viewers voted in the final in May.

Lawyers for the company's owners, Willie and Frederick Jenkins, held a press conference in Birmingham, Alabama, where they showed copies of $10,000 (�6,300) cheques made out to Mr Studdard's brother Kevin and his manager Ron Edwards.

Studdard's lawyer, Byron Perkins, made no immediate response but said: "The public will hear from us soon."

Lawyer LaVeeda Morgan Battle, a spokesman for Willie and Frederick Jenkins, said Studdard had told them to "keep this confidential" because under the rules of American Idol he was not allowed to enter into any other contracts while he was on the show.

'Fair compensation'

Studdard approached the company in March about wearing their clothing on the show, Ms Battle said.

He received $1,000 (�630) a week to wear the clothes, rising to $1,500 (�955) a week as he got further through the show, she said.

"The payments were made as full and fair compensation," she added.

The clothing company were continuing to use an image of Mr Studdard on their website because they were waiting to resolve the issue, she said.

Mr Willie Jenkins had spoken of a contract with Mr Studdard in an interview with The Birmingham News in June.

"When he wore the clothing, we paid him," he said then.

Studdard said in his lawsuit he had printed the numbers 205 on the front of his jersey in honour of his local dialling code in Birmingham, but 205 Flava said they already had a design exactly like it.

Studdard, 25, is already a household name and a lucrative record contract now has his name on it.

With a gospel and R&B style, he chose to sing Imagine by John Lennon, Westlife's Flying Without Wings and Burt Bacharach's A House is Not a Home to win the show.