Cape Town – Meghan Markle is officially off maternity leave and has returned to work with the launch of her Smart Works capsule collection on Thursday.
Smart Works – a charity assisting unemployed women – in collaboration with the Duchess of Sussex with leading fashion brands John Lewis & Partners, Marks & Spencer, Jigsaw and Misha Nanoo, created a 5-piece Smart Set capsule collection consisting of workwear essentials.
The crisp white shirt, blazer to wear over, comfy trousers, a dress that flatters everyone and the perfect tote bag will be sold for at least two weeks – and on a 1:1 model, for every item purchased, another will be given to help a woman get back into the workforce.
"When you buy any item in the Smart Set Capsule Collection for Smart Works, the same item will be given to a Smart Works client, and with it, the confidence and support she needs to enter the workforce and take an important step in building a career," Meghan commented.
"As women, it’s 100% our responsibility, I think, to support and uplift one another, 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 say, 'I want to help you.'"
Meghan explained, some other woman across the country will be wearing the same piece you are, whether it’s a blazer or a pair of pants, that may very well have changed their life, because you decided to make that purchase.
To the launch, Meghan wore the crisp white shirt and black trouser from the Smart Set capsule paired with a few very special accessories: a gold bracelet and butterfly earrings, both of which once belonged to Princess Diana.
SEE PICTURES OF DIANA'S ACCESSORIES HERE:
(Photos: Splash)
According to PEOPLE, Princess Diana wore the butterfly earrings on a trip to Canada in 1986 – a year after Prince Harry was born. Prince Harry and Prince William are said to have inherited their late mother’s jewellery, which seems to have made cameo appearances since they married.
Meghan Markle’s engagement ring, for one, is made up of three stones – a larger diamond in the centre with two smaller stones on either side. The two side-stones are reportedly from Princess Diana’s personal collection, while the centre stone is from Botswana – one of the countries Prince Harry’s called “home” and he’ll soon be returning to with his upcoming tour to Africa.
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