Many things have changed since Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, moved from London to California.
The couple has blown up the myth of Windsor unity, had a second child, opened up to Oprah Winfrey, participated in a documentary about themselves, and otherwise become tabloid fodder. Depending on your point of view, they are either champions of the battle against a hidebound, racist establishment, or grifters out for themselves.
Through it all, however, apparently Meghan’s ability to move merchandise has remained notably high. So much so that in 2020, she decided to start putting her money where her taste was and began investing in a small portfolio of female-run companies.
The latest: Cesta Collective, which specializes in basket bags that are handwoven by a collective of women in Rwanda and finished in Italy. Meghan originally discovered the brand while online shopping.
“I spend a lot of time just Googling, looking for brands,” Meghan said last week on a call from her home in Montecito, just after she and Harry had returned from a tour of Colombia. “When people are online looking for things or reading things, I’m trying to find great new designers, especially in different territories.”
Meghan wore a Cesta bag to a dinner date she and her husband had in May 2023 with Cameron Diaz, Gwyneth Paltrow and their spouses. Afterward, as photos of Meghan with the bag spread, Cesta’s founders, Erin Ryder and Courtney Weinblatt Fasciano, said they noticed an almost immediate uptick in interest.
“We were on our way to Mexico to shoot a look book,” Ms. Ryder said. “We got off the plane, got our internet on and, all of a sudden, this one style that had been a little bit sleepy was totally sold through, and we were getting a lot of ‘back in stock’ sign-ups. We knew there had to be some reason that these were selling so quickly, so Courtney did some internet sleuthing to find out. We had more sales in one day than we’ve ever had.”
She and Ms. Fasciano wrote Meghan a thank-you note, they said, a relationship ensued and, this summer, she offered to become their first outside investor. Meghan would not say how much money she had put into the brand, or what ownership percentage she has, but Ms. Ryder and Ms. Fasciano confirmed it was a minority stake.
Meghan said she realized how much attention was focused on her clothing choices in 2017, following her engagement to Harry, when she wore a bag from the Scottish brand Strathberry for a public appearance with him. A founder of Strathberry said the bag had sold out online in 11 minutes after Meghan was seen with it.
When Meghan learned that the boost in publicity and sales she had caused had helped Strathberry expand its work force, it “changed everything in terms of how I then looked at putting an outfit together,” she said.
It’s not that different from dressing for a role, but the role is her.
“Times where I know there is a global spotlight, and attention will be given to each detail of what I may or may not be wearing, then I support designers that I have really great friendships with, and smaller, up-and-coming brands that haven’t gotten the attention that they should be getting,” she said. “That’s one of the most powerful things that I’m able to do, and that’s simply wearing, like, an earring.”
