Meghan Markle launching clothing collection – for every piece sold, another will be donated to charity
Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, is busy as a new mom and with her role as guest editor at British Vogue. Markle used the magazine to announce yet another big endeavor: she's partnering with clothing brands to create a new clothing line. The collection will not only be available to women who want a piece of Meghan's style — it will also help women in need.
In the Vogue piece, Markle explains that she partnered with retailers Marks & Spencer, John Lewis & Partners, Jigsaw, and her friend, designer Misha Nonoo, to create a capsule line of clothing. For each piece sold in the stores, another will be donated to Smart Works, an organization that provides clothing to women in need.
In January, Kensington Palace announced that Markle was appointed Royal Patron of Smart Works. The duchess is the royal patron to several charities. This one helps women get appropriate outfits for job interviews. "Once they score their dream job, they come back for a second outfit, to see them through until their first pay cheque," Markle writes.
"It's the enthusiasm of the volunteers, the earnestness of the staff and, most of all, the blushing, bashful and beautiful smile that crosses a client's face when she sees herself in the mirror, that I have found so profoundly compelling," Markle explains. "Because in that moment, she feels special and emboldened."
At Smart Works, the donations from woman to woman are "not a hand-me-down, but rather a hand being held," Markle writes.
Smart Works receives the clothing through donations, which means "it can be a potpourri of mismatched sizes and colours, not always the right stylistic choices or range of sizes," Markle writes. To help women get work-appropriate attire that fits well and matches, Markle and the brands she enlisted will create options for a workwear wardrobe.
The duchess is British Vogue's first-ever guest editor. She undertook the role while she was pregnant with her son, Archie, who was born in May. She spent several months helping craft the magazine's September issue —which is considered the most important one of the year in the fashion world.
The issue is entitled "Forces for Change" and it focuses on women who break barriers. The cover features 15 women who are "each driving impact and raising the bar for equality, kindness, justice and open mindedness."
Markle decided that the 16th spot on the cover will feature a mirror, so that the reader can be included to "encourage them to use their own platforms to effect change."
