'My dad was in tears'
You don't need me to tell you that when Meghan Markle wears something, be it an M&S jumper or a Chloe handbag. But how do smaller brands and designers cope when they see a massive spike in sales after an official Royal outing?
Canadian designer Nina Kharey, behind the brand House of Nonie, experienced such a situation when Meghan wore one of her designs for an event to mark the 100th birthday of the late Nelson Mandela.
Nina had no idea the Duchess would wear the dusty pink sleeveless trench coat, until she woke up to her phone blowing up with texts.
She told Hello!, 'My dad was in tears. It was unbelievable; it was really surreal. I just started Googling right away and looking, and I was in awe of how she looked. She just looked so amazing it.'
But for the designer, it was much more than having a celebrity wearing her designs, it was the defining moment of her career, 'I finally not only get to prove it to the world that I'm worthy of attention and time, but in a way I also proved it to myself and my family. I have something!'
And as you can imagine, sales have gone through the roof, with international customers trying to get hair hands on the coat.
Nina said, 'It’s just been crazy. I was telling my PR that I woke up with [my phone] battery at 100 per cent and by 9 am I had to plug it in because it was dying. My Instagram has blown up, [and] my emails, and I can just imagine how the orders are looking at the moment!'
The Meghan Markle effect isn't going away any time soon.
