On the final day of her unofficial Australian tour, it was clear that Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, has replaced Catherine, Princess of Wales as a commercial fashion force.
Expect sales of the blue and white striped $420 shirt from Australian label Matteau, worn by Meghan to Bondi and sailing on Sydney Harbour yesterday, to match those of the $389 khaki mini dress worn on Thursday from Melbourne label Friends With Frank, which (apart from one in an XL) sold out in 24 hours.
After 10 outfit changes in four days – fewer than Margot Robbie on a movie press tour and four more than Princess Anne on her official four-day Australian visit in November – Meghan is the closest person to the crown who can drive sales for emerging labels.
Meghan’s best looks: Day 4
One of Anne’s outfits was a military uniform, so it’s safe to say that she’s in her own style lane.
As Catherine enters her queen-in-waiting era, most recently re-wearing a two-year-old Self-Portrait dress to Easter service with the royal family, she has left showcasing the latest on-trend items to her sister-in-law.
It’s a style strategy closer to Queen Mary of Denmark who, on her official Australian tour in March, re-wore favourite pieces from her own wardrobe, including a Zimmermann dress from 2022. Meghan’s approach is closer to content creators such as Paris Hilton, who has also partnered with AI shopping platform One Off for a slice of sales.
Meghan’s best looks: Day 3
After starting the tour wearing a flared Karen Gee dress on a visit to the Royal Children’s Hospital Melbourne, Meghan has churned through Australian labels including St Agni, Camilla and Marc, P Johnson, Dissh and Rolla’s.
Promoting a label can have a positive effect for a label, like Meghan wearing Karen Gee for the first time on her official tour of Australia in 2018, putting the little-known designer on the map for corporate women around the country.
Meghan also helped sales for fledgling Scottish accessories label Strathberry when she carried their handbag in 2017, which is now projected to surpass £100 million ($189 million) in two years.
Meghan’s best looks: Day 1 & 2
While Karen Gee is honoured that Meghan chose to wear her label and Friends With Frank founder Julia McCarthy sees Meghan’s endorsement as a career highlight, Australian Fashion Council executive chair Marianne Perkovic warns labels against banking their success on celebrity support.
“It’s no surprise to see Meghan choosing Australian designers as our industry is globally requested for its quality,” Perkovic says. “Designers need to still have good business strategy and not just rely on these moments.
“I think about Taylor Swift wearing Dion Lee and that didn’t help that brand.”
Three months after Swift wore one of Lee’s corset tops, the business entered voluntary administration.
Lee has since returned with the provocative label Haelo. We missed out on Meghan wearing one of his sheer corsets with black lace appliqué in Australia. Perhaps her approach to dressing is still slightly different to Paris Hilton.
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