Meghan Markle Just Got Candid About Her Approach To Fashion In An Interview
Meghan Markle knows her influence. The Hollywood-actress-turned-entrepreneur and Duchess of Sussex has long been known not only for her royal ties, charitable endeavours, and female empowerment projects, but for her sophisticated, modern style too.
The focus on Markle’s wardrobe has understandably skyrocketed since she married into the British royal family, and her thoughtful choices have certainly not gone unnoticed. When she and husband Prince Harry were still senior working royals, Markle regularly found ways to pay homage to his late mother, Princess Diana, with her ensembles (something she has continued to do since). And when Harry’s beloved grandmother Queen Elizabeth II died, Markle did the same, wearing a pair of pearl and diamond earrings gifted to her by the late monarch to the procession of the Queen’s coffin.
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As a former resident of Canada and current resident of Montecito, California, Markle also tends to wear pieces from local designers. And on her latest international trips with Harry, she’s been sure to do the same. During the couple’s recent four-day visit to Colombia, for example, she repped local designer Johanna Ortiz with some of her looks.
In a new, rare interview with The New York Times from August 28, Markle addressed her approach to dressing since becoming a duchess, saying that she tries to use her reach and influence to highlight brands and designers she believes in.
As she explained, the moment she realised she could sell out a product immediately after wearing it, it 'changed everything in terms of how I then looked at putting an outfit together.'
'Times where I know there is a global spotlight, and attention will be given to each detail of what I may or may not be wearing, then I support designers that I have really great friendships with, and smaller, up-and-coming brands that haven’t gotten the attention that they should be getting,' Markle said. 'That’s one of the most powerful things that I’m able to do, and that’s simply wearing, like, an earring.'
In 2020, Markle decided to begin investing in a small portfolio of female-run companies. Her repertoire has grown since, and her most recent addition is Cesta Collective, a small brand that sells basket bags handwoven by a collective of female artisans in Rwanda and finished in Italy.
Meghan said she discovered the brand while online shopping. 'I spend a lot of time just Googling, looking for brands,' she told the Times. 'When people are online looking for things or reading things, I’m trying to find great new designers, especially in different territories.'
Backing these brands she feels close to, Markle said, feels like a natural way for her to build her own environment, especially as she gets ready to launch her own lifestyle brand, American Riviera Orchard. 'Investing in them has helped me line up for this chapter where I’m investing in myself,' Meghan said.
She noted that she thinks of her investment portfolio as a 'dolphin tank,' as opposed to a Shark Tank (the popular show on which budding entrepreneurs make business presentations to a panel of five venture capitalists in hopes the VCs will invest in them). She added, 'These are friendly waters.'
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