Meghan Markle Broke Her Streak of Wearing Female-Led Brands at Official Events
Yesterday, Meghan Markle made a stunning appearance at the Your Commonwealth Youth Challenge reception in a sunny yellow Brandon Maxwell sheath dress. The Duchess of Sussex looked elegant in the bold look, which was a surprising choice since she's worn neutral colors at recent royal engagements up until yesterday. However, the ensemble also broke a more subtle, female-centric sartorial streak you might not have noticed.
All of the outfits Markle has worn on official engagements since her wedding to Prince Harry, up until yesterday, have been from female-led fashion houses, The Independent previously pointed out. Yes, that includes her Givenchy wedding gown (by artistic director Clare Waight Keller), her Stella McCartney reception dress, and the Carolina Herrera dress she wore to Trooping the Colour, among many others. Even her and Harry's wedding pastry chef and florist were women, Town & Country notes.
Though the Duchess and the Palace haven't confirmed whether this streak was intentional, we wouldn't be surprised if it was. Markle has been a vocal feminist long before joining the royal family, and has been a UN Women's Advocate for Women’s Political Participation and Leadership since 2015. She even made sure to discuss women's empowerment at her first joint event with Prince William and Kate Middleton this year.
It's exciting to see the Duchess support women through her clothing, but wearing male-helmed brands, like Brandon Maxwell, from time to time doesn't make her any less of a feminist. Ultimately, who-and what-she wears is up to her. Let's recap her public looks since the royal wedding:
The Duchess wore a custom Givenchy gown for the ceremony, designed by Clare Waight Keller, the first woman to helm the French fashion house.
She followed up with a Stella McCartney high-collar dress for the reception.
For her first royal engagement post-wedding, Markle wore a blush sheer dress by Goat, a brand founded by designer Jane Lewis in 2001, according to The Independent.
She wore an off-the-shoulder dress by Carolina Herrera for her first Trooping the Colour. (In February 2018, Herrera stepped down as creative director from her namesake brand and Wes Gordon took over. However, she's still a "Global Brand Ambassador" for the label.)
Then she wore Clare Waight Keller Givenchy looks again for her first joint event with the Queen and her first Royal Ascot.
Then, at last week's Queen's Young Leaders Awards, she wore a blush skirt suit by Prada, helmed by Miuccia Prada.
Even Markle's outfits for unofficial royal appearances celebrated female designers. For a family wedding last month, she wore a maxi dress by Oscar de la Renta, which is co-helmed by Laura Kim and Fernando Garcia. And the brown gingham dress she wore to a polo match last weekend was by Shoshanna, founded by Shoshanna Gruss in 1998.
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