Fashion line Meghan Markle Smart Works: See the collection

Five months after the baby Archie was born, Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex, is back at work. Thursday, September 12, marked the launch of its fashion collection with the British charity Smart Works, a line of five women's workwear that brings together four different British clothing brands.

The collection, called Smart Set, features a $ 32 Marks & Spencer straight crepe dress, a John Lewis $ 138 tote bag, a $ 245 blazer and a $ 148 Jigsaw slim pant and a white shirt $ 125 classic designer (and close friend of Markle) Misha Nonoo. For each piece purchased, one will be donated to Smart Works. Some, like the tote bag, are already exhausted, while the blazer and pants are not available for shipment to the United States.

Markle herself wore two of the pieces, the shirt and the pants, to make her debut in the collection at the John Lewis store in London on Thursday. This is one reason why each article looks surprisingly simple: Smart Works offers coaching and styling sessions to unemployed women before job interviews, many of which may not have the budget needed to buy an entirely new outfit tailored to their office to look professional. (Americans may be more familiar with Dress for Success, a similar organization based in the United States.)

"Since I have been in the UK, it is very important for me to meet communities and grassroots organizations that are doing useful work and doing everything I can to help them amplify their impact," said Markle in a statement posted on Instagram. . Beneath each product description is a quote from Markle: "Not a hand, one hand in hand."

Since becoming the Duchess of Sussex, Markle has integrated her status as a great fashion icon into her royal duties, and it is clear that maternity leave will continue to do so.

Yet while Kate Middleton, the Duchess of Cambridge, followed a more traditional scenario regarding her relationship to the fashion industry, she favors a handful of rather award-winning British stylists at public events and his appearance in British Vogue in 2016 was limited to a low level. Key photo session in the campaign – Markle has addressed his royal status more as a modern lifestyle influencer.

For example, her first charity project as Duchess of Sussex was a recipe book containing recipes from the Hubb Community Kitchen, formed by a group of women following the Grenfell Tower fire in 2017, in which 72 people died. Instead of the typical photo broadcast in British Vogue, she instead published as a guest the September issue of this year after sending a text to her publisher, Edward Enninful, and covered her cover with 15 "forces" for change, "including women like Laverne Cox and Jameela. Jamil (there was also an empty space that looked like a mirror, so "you see yourself as part of this collective," she wrote.)

Samir Hussein / WireImage

Meghan and her husband, Prince Harry, also managed to get their own Instagram account, separate from @KensingtonRoyal (William and Kate's official page) in April, despite previous statements by Buckingham Palace suggesting that the Duke and Duchess Sussex would be grouped into the extended family. social media accounts.

All this makes sense for a woman who had already influenced fashion and gastronomy in her previous life. In addition to her work as an actress, especially on television Suit, Markle also had a blog called The Tig, where she wrote healthy recipes, travel tips and beauty reviews and interviewed celebrities. This is the world she lived in and became famous before meeting Harry.

It is also, among other things, what has exposed Markle to fanatical and often cruel criticism, emanating largely from the British press. The physical differences discussed by Meghan are very questionable: she wears messy buns! She had no makeup for her wedding! She does not always follow the "royal protocol"! And what is underlying is that she is a biracial American, which contrasts with the story of the royal family who married her crisp white British peers. Every decision that Meghan takes as king is strongly reprimanded by the press. Although she was not the first royal to edit a magazine, her choice was called "silly", "unscrupulous hypocritical" and "superficial" by various columnists.

Critics have also condemned the high price of Markle's new collection, although the main purpose is to subsidize the cost of clothing so that a second can be given to Smart Works.

Choosing affordable work clothes for unemployed women as a leading cause is an eloquent sign of Meghan's royal role: those who can use the word "feminist" without appearing visibly uncomfortable, defending women who enter the job market and who do not fear his former life as an influencer.

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