
She once believed in fairy tales, until living one revealed the castle’s thorns. Meghan Markle
’s journey from Hollywood dreamer to royal bride to global changemaker reads like a modern fable, each chapter steeped in resilience. As she walked that aisle, she carried more than flowers: the weight of barriers to break and hopes to lift. Now, stripped of tiaras yet crowned with purpose, she turns every outfit into armor and every appearance into a spotlight for advocacy.
Once a royal, now a style strategist rewriting the rulebook. Meghan Markle’s closet does more than serve looks; it shifts culture. Here are all the things she does to play chess in couture and win every time.
Championing sustainable fashion
Meghan Markle’s wardrobe has never been about mere adornment; it has always carried intent. By choosing eco-conscious brands like Stella McCartney and Veja
, she threads a quiet defiance into the seams of couture. Each recycled fabric gown and vegan leather accessory becomes a promise to the planet, a rejection of fashion’s disposable habits. These choices reveal a woman shaping her legacy stitch by stitch, proving elegance and environmental stewardship can indeed walk hand in hand down any red carpet.
On this day in 1971, Stella McCartney, English fashion designer entered the world.
She created Meghan Markle’s wedding reception dress and refuses to use leather or fur in her designs, championing sustainable fashion throughout her career.#BornToday #OnThisDay pic.twitter.com/zvpMbNL7f8
— Entered the world (@enteredtheworld) September 13, 2024
While her garments honor the Earth, her influence continues to ripple, uplifting small designers and crafting new narratives for those long kept in the shadows.
Boosting small and female-led brands
Every time Meghan Markle appears in creations by Juan De Dios or Johanna Ortiz
, she extends an olive branch to small and female-led labels. These are not random selections but deliberate gestures of solidarity and empowerment.
In her hands, fashion transforms into a vessel for economic change and cultural celebration. She offers designers a rare kind of visibility, ensuring their artistry is not confined to ateliers but embraced on a global stage. Here, clothing becomes currency for progress.
As Meghan Markle elevates designers, her next subtle strategy lies not in fabric alone but in color, a language of its own.
Color as communication
To Meghan Markle, color is not decoration; it is declaration. Fiery reds radiate confidence at charity galas
, while calming blues and whites reflect serenity at women’s empowerment events.
Even her California neutrals whisper reinvention
, signaling a life unmoored from palace walls yet deeply rooted in purpose. Each shade she wears speaks without words, her palette telling stories of resilience, evolution, and quiet power. In Meghan Markle’s world, colors do not just flatter; they narrate.
“Her red tailored Carolina Herrera dress and tousled hair epitomizes a more easy going approach to evening wear (when compared to her life as a working royal, of course). And with no official dressing protocols to break, Meghan can let the limelight shine on the charity cause.”🎉 pic.twitter.com/h93ifqlDoI
— Zandi Sussex (@ZandiSussex) October 7, 2024
As these hues speak volumes, the echoes of her choices reverberate far beyond runways and into the global marketplace.
Economic Meghan Markle effect
The so-called Meghan Markle effect has become a phenomenon in its own right, rewriting the fortunes of every brand she touches. Outland Denim saw sales surge by 640%,
, after Meghan Markle wore their jeans, while DeMellier handbags vanished from shelves at breathtaking speed.
Her influence is neither casual nor accidental; it is transformative. Each garment she chooses acts as a catalyst for economic revival, proving that fashion, when wielded with intention, can turn visibility into viability and admiration into action.
Meghan Markle IMPACT! Outland Denim reached new heights when Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, wore a pair of the brand’s jeans four times while on her tour of Australia and was able to create 46 new positions for women who have been rescued from trafficking for the company. pic.twitter.com/ze5tuHjx7w
— JeanBear (@JeanBear1) June 16, 2023
And yet, beyond commerce lies an even softer, subtler form of influence: diplomacy draped in silk.
Wardrobe as soft diplomacy
In re-wearing
beloved outfits during her Nigeria tour
, Meghan Markle’s choices whispered continuity and respect, a dialogue without words. Even in her Netflix docuseries, she honored Princess Diana’s legacy by wearing her jewelry
and wardrobe staples, a quiet nod to memory stitched into meaning. Each post-royal garment continues this tact, bridging cultures and fostering goodwill; British designers shine in America, and American ones abroad
. Here, clothing transcends aesthetics, becoming her silent ambassador, proving influence need not roar when elegance can speak volumes.
In the end, Meghan Markle’s story is not about surviving the fairy tale; it is about rewriting it entirely. She has taken the fragments of a broken crown and, with her million-dollar wealth
and influence, forged them into something far more powerful: a legacy of conscious choices
that ripple across oceans. Every garment becomes a love letter to the future, every appearance a quiet rebellion. She proves true royalty lies in using your voice, your platform, and even your closet to lift others.
Read More: Meghan Markle’s Netflix Projects: Hits, Premieres & Projects That Didn’t Make It
What are your thoughts on Meghan Markle’s style as a form of power play? Let us know in the comments below.