Today Meghan Markle officially ended her maternity leave by presenting the clothing collection that she created in partnership with SmartWorks, M&S, John Lewis, Misha Nonoo and Jigsasw.
The Duchess wore a shirt and trousers from the Smart Set Capsule, and told us how important this project was for her.
'When I first moved to the UK, it was incredibly important to me personally to be able to connect with people on the ground in really important work and one of the places that I went to very early on was Smart Works,' she said.
After several hands on visit, she realised there weren't enough donate clothes for women who wanted to feel confident.
She said, 'I thought okay let's just try to work with what we have and make the best of it. And then the next time I went, there was a rack of about 40 or 50 lilac-coloured blazers. Now don’t get me wrong, it’s a great blazer, and I’m sure for someone it’s exactly what she wants to be wearing.'
So she set upon designing a wardrobe who would make women feel empowered, teaming up with quintessentially British brands to do so. The result is a timeless capsule of shirts, dresses and trousers, as well as a tote which has sold out already (more coming though).
And for each piece bought, one will be donated to a woman in need. Meghan added, 'I think it’s really key in this day and age that we remember; it’s not just about the people that you know that you’re supporting. It's about the people that you don’t know, that you may never know, that you may never meet, as women it is 100% our responsibility I think to support and uplift each other, to champion each other as we aim to succeed, to not set each other up for failure but instead to really be there rallying around each other and saying ‘I want to help you’.
I couldn't have put it better myself. So without further ado, these are the pieces from the collection, which you can buy now for a limited amount of time only.
Shop now: JIGSAW PARIS SEAM DETAIL JACKET for £199 from JIGSAW
Shop now: The Smart Set Shirt for £125 from Misha Nonoo
Shop now: Tote bag for £109 from John Lewis
Shop now: M&S Collection dress for £19.50 from M&S