Meghan Sussex Champions British Fashion While Critical Media Outlets Seek to Profit From Her Style

This article contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase through these links, Feminegra may earn a commission at no additional cost to you. Our editorial opinions remain independent.

We expected Meghan Sussex to showcase British fashion again following her return to Britain, and her latest outing with Nobel Peace Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai certainly did not disappoint.

On October 7, the Duchess of Sussex joined Malala for afternoon tea at Claridge’s, one of London’s most prestigious hotels. The two women, who previously collaborated on a discussion about girls’ education in 2020, were photographed embracing outside the Mayfair establishment. Their meeting was a private catch-up between friends, not an official royal engagement, yet it still generated international attention for British fashion.

Meghan looked effortlessly elegant in a toffee-coloured Maxime coat from British fashion label TOVE, which she paired with an ivory cashmere sweater by CO, white wide-leg satin trousers by Ralph Lauren, Saint Laurent loafers and a black Chanel handbag. She completed the look with a diamond-and-emerald necklace by Logan Hollowell.

But beyond the beautiful outfit, there is something worth celebrating about Meghan’s fashion choices: she continues to use her visibility to promote British businesses, including independent brands founded by women, without receiving Sovereign Grant funding for royal duties.

Meghan Puts the Spotlight on British Female-Founded Fashion Label TOVE

Founded in London in 2019 by Camille Perry and Holly Wright, TOVE has established itself as a contemporary womenswear brand specialising in elegant, minimalist designs.

Both founders came from Topshop, where Perry served as head of buying and Wright as head of design. Drawing on their experience at Topshop, they launched TOVE to create sophisticated, versatile clothing that women could wear across different parts of their lives. Their designs prioritise practicality, quality fabrics and timeless silhouettes, clothing that moves between work, family life and social occasions without compromising on style.

Speaking to PORTER in 2021, Perry explained the brand’s approach: “We think about how she wants to present herself and what she really needs from her closet – that is what shapes and forms the collection.”

It is a philosophy that suits Meghan’s own approach to fashion: understated, polished and wearable. TOVE celebrated her appearance on Instagram, sharing an image of the Duchess in its coat.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by TOVE (@tovestudio)

Meghan’s decision to wear TOVE places another international spotlight on two women who spent years developing their expertise in British fashion before building their own label. The brand was already established, but this kind of exposure can introduce designers to customers who might never have found them otherwise.

Meghan deserves credit for supporting British fashion, particularly businesses founded by women. And she does so without receiving Sovereign Grant funding for official royal duties.

The Daily Mail Criticises Meghan, Then Tries to Profit From Her Fashion Influence

You really cannot make this up, although this kind of contradiction has become something of a feature of the Daily Mail’s coverage of Meghan. The newspaper, which devotes considerable attention to scrutinising the Duchess, now wants readers to recreate her expensive wardrobe.

There is also something revealing about how the Mail has presented Meghan’s outfit across its coverage. One report highlighted an estimated £25,000 worth of clothing and accessories. Then, on October 9, the newspaper published a shopping feature placing the value of Meghan’s look at £28,000 and encouraging readers to recreate it for less than £500.

Of course, these figures represent estimated retail prices, not necessarily what Meghan spent dressing for the occasion. There is no evidence that she purchased everything specifically for her afternoon tea with Malala.

Reporter Ruth Stainer’s shopping feature breaks down Meghan’s outfit, from her £1,695 TOVE coat to her £16,200 diamond-and-emerald necklace, before offering cheaper alternatives from retailers including Marks & Spencer, John Lewis, Karen Millen, Next, H&M and Uniqlo.

And here is the most revealing part. The Daily Mail openly discloses that it earns commissions when readers purchase products through its affiliate shopping links.

There is nothing inherently wrong with affiliate marketing. Fashion publications regularly offer affordable alternatives to celebrity outfits, and readers appreciate being able to recreate expensive looks without spending thousands of pounds.

The Daily Mail has targeted Meghan with hostile coverage since she started dating Prince Harry, while its sister paper, the Mail on Sunday, unlawfully published extracts from her private letter to her father. Yet the Mail still wants to profit from her fashion influence through affiliate links.

So which is it? Is Meghan’s wardrobe an extravagant display of wealth deserving scrutiny, or a chic look worth recreating? Apparently, it depends on whether the Daily Mail is counting the cost of her clothes or earning commissions by helping readers copy them. The clothes haven’t changed. The opportunity to profit from them has.

Meghan’s Fashion Influence Is Clearly Valuable to the Daily Mail

What makes this particularly interesting is the amount of shopping content the newspaper produced from one afternoon tea appearance.

This was not simply a short article identifying Meghan’s coat. The publication compiled multiple alternatives for her outerwear, trousers, cashmere sweater, loafers and jewellery, directing readers towards an assortment of retailers.

That is an extensive commercial feature built around one woman’s outfit. It does not prove how many purchases Meghan generates or how much commission the Daily Mail earns. But it demonstrates that the publication considers her wardrobe commercially attractive enough to build an entire affiliate shopping feature around it.

The Daily Mail didn’t simply identify Meghan’s coat. It compiled alternatives for her trousers, cashmere sweater, loafers and jewellery, directing readers towards an assortment of retailers.

That is an extensive commercial feature built around one woman’s outfit. While we cannot establish how many purchases Meghan generates, the Mail clearly considers her fashion choices valuable enough to create an entire affiliate shopping guide.

Different headlines, different audiences, but the same commercially valuable subject.

The irony is that Meghan does not need the institution of monarchy to make British fashion headlines. But some sections of the British press apparently still need Meghan to generate theirs.