Meghan Steps Out To Launch Smart Works Collection
On Thursday, Meghan unveiled her first foray into fashion design with a capsule collection for Smart Works.
The engagement marks her first official appearance since going on maternity leave following the birth of baby Archie in May.
Meghan has partnered with Marks & Spencer, John Lewis, Jigsaw, and Misha Nonoo toĀ create a workwear collectionĀ for Smart Works, a charity that helps unemployed women get back into the workplace.
The collection includes a shirt, pants, a blazer, a dress, and a bag and it has been unveiled just a day before London Fashion Week starts.
For each item bought from the capsule collection, another will be donated to the charity.
For the first post-maternity engagement, Meghan wore the collection’s black Jigsaw trousers and white Misha Nonoo shirt. She paired them with Manolo Blahnik pumps and a Ralph Lauren belt.
Speaking about her collection launch, Meghan said: “Since moving to the UK, it has been deeply important to me to meet with communities and organisations on the ground doing meaningful work and to try to do whatever I can to help them amplify their impact.
“Weāve demonstrated how we can work collectively to empower each other – another layer to this communal success story, that I am so proud to be a part of.”
“(Smart Works are) about women who are empowering each other, and I’m able to have the opportunity to meet them, get to know them, learn from them and then say what can I do in some small way, how can I try to help amplify this, make this even better, great and more impactful for the women we are trying to help.”
But despite the range’s official launch this afternoon, M&S and John Lewis & Partners have already put their designs up for sale on their website earlier today.
First up is the Marks & Spencer Crepe Shift Dress, which is available in three colours; Black, Rich Blue and Pink.
On the John Lewis website, you can buy the Ā£109 Leather Smart Set Tote Bag in Black or Tan.
The Duchess of Sussex became the royal patron of Smart Works in January.
She had a public engagement at the headquarters that month where she also became inspired after noticing that Smart Works’ clothing donations often lacked the right sizes and choices.
“When you walk into a Smart Works space youāre met with racks of clothing and an array of bags and shoes,” she wrote, while guest-editing Vogue.
āSometimes, however, it can be a potpourri of mismatched sizes and colours, not always the right stylistic choices or range of sizes.
“To help with this, I asked Marks & Spencer, John Lewis & Partners, Jigsaw and my friend, the designer Misha Nonoo, if they were willing to design a capsule collection of more classic options for a workwear wardrobe.”